


A Lovely Day for the Faire

by starlight_and_seafire



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Modern AU, Pre-Relationship, Renaissance Faires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-01-23 14:24:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 46,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlight_and_seafire/pseuds/starlight_and_seafire
Summary: Rose Tico loves the Renaissance Faire, loves the fantasy and pretend and magic of it all. She even enlists her friends to dress up in costumes right alongside her. This year, she finally convinced Rey to come along with her and Finn, and with a little help from Paige Tico, Rey will have a costume to wear. Together, Rose expects the three will have a lovely day at the Faire.So, when Finn misplaces his costume, he expects his girlfriend to be disappointed. And while he knows his girlfriend won’t really hold it against him, he knows he’ll need to make it up to her. And what better way to earn forgiveness then to enlist a troubadour to help him apologize?It was the part that came after that was entirely unexpected.--Note: I bumped up the rating for sex at the end of Chapter 9, but it can easily be skipped. The rest of the work is rated T.





	1. Chapter 1

“I still can’t believe you lost your costume!”

“I didn’t _lose_ my costume,” Finn says, trying to placate the slightly irritated but still adorable Rose. “I simply loaned it to Slip,” and he pauses to wince as Rose lifts a single eyebrow, “and now it’s halfway across the country with him and who knows if I’ll ever see it again.”

Finn likes the Renaissance Faire. Mostly, though, he likes the food and the music and the part where he can just watch people enjoy their day in the lovely spring weather.

Rose, however . . .

Rose loves it, loves the fantasy and pretend and magic of it all. And now, she’s standing before him, practically glowing in the warm sunshine, dressed in a beautiful, full-length linen dress, wine red with delicate lace along the neckline. She looks regal, even with her hands on her hips as she scowls at Finn.

Finn turns to Rey, hoping for some support. One look at her face, though, and he knows he won’t get it.

Rey points an accusing finger at him, even as she tries to hide the twitch of her lips that signals she’s only teasing. “I can’t believe you’re trying to worm your way out of this one. If I’m wearing a dress, you should be dressed up, too.” Rey shoots a quick glance at Rose, saying, “It is a beautiful dress, though. You and Paige have excellent taste.”

Rose tilts her head towards Rey, graciously accepting the compliment. Rey grins back at her, before her face once more settles into a mock glare and she jabs a finger towards Finn. “You though!”

Rose tries to hide her chuckle even as she steps toward Rey to adjust the sleeve of Rey’s dress. Rose had begged Rey to dress up with them, and while Rey was more than happy to agree to Rose’s idea as it made Rose so happy - even if dresses weren’t exactly Rey’s favorite thing - Rey’s wallet suggested otherwise.

In the end, Rose had sent a text to her sister Paige, and this morning when Rey arrived at Rose and Finn’s apartment, the dress was waiting there for her. Rey and Paige were roughly similar sizes, but still, when Rose had finished lacing up the back of the dress, Rey turned towards the full-length mirror and her jaw dropped open in shock. The dress fit Rey like a glove, as if it had been meant for her all along. Although Rey teasingly griped about the dress’s lack of functionality, she couldn’t stop her hand from brushing adoringly along the forest green material of the dress. With simple gold trim along the sleeves and waistline, and lacing up the back, it was simpler than a lot of the other, more ornate dresses that often appeared at these events. But she loved it.

Rey links arms with Rose as they step past Finn and head towards the gated entrance, leaving him just a step behind. Finn can’t contain his smile at the teasing from his two favorite women, even as he’s already planning out how best to make it up to them.

\--

The day was beautiful, sunny with a cool breeze, with that indescribable feeling in the air that you could only get from an early spring day. Tall trees, their leaves blowing gently in the wind, surrounded the large clearing that the Renaissance Faire took over, providing a natural barrier from the outside world.

Although still early on Sunday morning, large groups of people were already milling about enjoying the last day of the Renaissance Faire. Some were dressed in their everyday clothes, while some were dressed as lords or ladies, and others as common folk in medieval times. A few faeries were even seen mixed in with the tradespeople. One man dressed as a pirate wandered past, and Rey couldn’t help but give him an assessing look mixed with approval.

Rose leans in and whispers just loud enough for the three of them to hear. “I bet we could put together an amazing pirate costume for you for next year.”

“I think I’d make a kickass pirate,” Rey says, grinning.

 Finn chuckles. “Oh, no question about that. You absolutely would.”

Rose leads them toward The Costume Shoppe, a large tent set up near the front for people to buy or rent costumes. Finn laughs a little under his breath, though not loud enough for Rose to hear. His girlfriend was so determined to have the trio done up properly.

Rose practically growls though when she sees the crowd. “There’s too many people here. It’ll take forever.”

Finn slides an arm around Rose’s shoulders, pulling her in close to his body to give her a quick hug. “Why don’t you two take a look at some of the shops,” he says, nodding towards the first row of tents where there are collections of goods for sale, everything from soaps and candles to jewelry and other trinkets. He knows Rose is a fan of the jewelry in particular. He’s seen how proud she is of the matching set of necklaces her and Paige have from when they were young girls attending the Faire for the first time. “I’ll go get us some breakfast and then we can decide what to see next. Sound good?”

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to get out of wearing a costume,” Rose says, grinning up at him.

“It was an accident, my dear. I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” he says, smiling. He leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek before letting her go.

“Oh, you will,” she teases, her voice deeper, mock threatening. “You will.”

He laughs, and while Rey and Rose walk off in one direction, he heads off to find the food tents.

He’s in line for pastries and coffee (and hot chocolate for himself, he’s never liked the bitter taste of coffee, not even when it’s heavily laden with cream and sugar the way Rey prefers it), when he hears the strumming of a guitar and a lovely voice singing some old tune that he’s not familiar with, but which somehow calls to him anyway.

A troubadour is making his way along the lines of people, serenading the crowds waiting for food. The man is handsome, and his rich, warm eyes and curly hair clearly draws the attention of most of the ladies, and some of the men, too. The troubadour responds almost flirtatiously, causing more than a few to blush when he focuses his attention on them while singing the sweet words of the song.

By the time the troubadour is strumming the last few notes, he’s right in front of Finn and a gaggle of older ladies waiting for their coffee. While the crowd claps and the ladies reach in their purses for money to tip the troubadour, Finn is suddenly struck by a brilliant idea.

Finn pulls out his wallet as the troubadour steps in front of him, and the troubadour eyes the twenty-dollar bill Finn is now holding. “Do you only sing for the crowds? Would you play for specific people?” Finn asks.

“Sure! I take requests, and I’ll play for whoever you’d like. I also have a show at the Pub at 6 before the fireworks,” the troubadour replies, tilting his chin toward the pavilion visible on the other side of the walkway.

“Fantastic! It’s for my girlfriend and a friend of ours. How much for a song?” Finn can’t help but grin widely at how easily his plan has come together.

“Well, that depends. Why do you need a troubadour?” The man asks, an assessing eye turned towards Finn, while a small grin tilts up the corners of his mouth.

Finn’s not sure how to condense the entire morning (and honestly, Rose’s entire history with Renaissance Faires) into a few words. The only thing he can think to reply is, “Because it’s a nice thing to do,” and hopes the troubadour understands.

The troubadour raises a single eyebrow at that, but it’s quickly followed by a knowing look. “Ah,” he says, teasingly. “You _need_ a troubadour.”

Finn holds his hands up pleadingly. “I need a troubadour.”

The troubadour laughs. “What did you do?”

“My girlfriend, Rose, loves the Renaissance Faire. She’s been coming here since she was a kid with her sister. Gets dressed up, the whole nine yards. And this year she was super excited because Rey, our friend, was coming along, and since Rose’s sister is out of state right now, Rey was sorta filling in, has the costume and everything. But I’m an idiot, it had completely slipped my mind that I had loaned my friend Slip my costume a few months ago, and I forgot to get it back. When I realized he still had it, it was too late, since Slip’s halfway across the country now. So I messed up and now . . . ”

“Now you gotta say you’re sorry.”

“I gotta say I’m sorry. Do you have anything that’d work?”

The troubadour’s grin is confident and amused all at once. “Oh yes, very much so, if I do say so myself.”

“How much?”

The other man waves away his offer. “This one will be free. You seem like a good guy. I’d be glad to help you out, buddy.”

Finn smiles, and receives a bright smile in return. There’s something about this man that Finn instinctively likes. He holds his hand out to the troubadour. “I’d appreciate that, man. I’m Finn, by the way.”

“I’m Poe. It’s good to meet you, Finn.”

“Good to meet you, too, Poe.”

“Alright then, let’s get to it. Lead the way, Finn.”

Finn makes his way through the crowds, jabbering away at Poe about the two wonderful, _absolutely amazing_ women here with him, and he doesn’t even feel embarrassed when he glances over at Poe and sees him grinning at Finn’s seemingly unending praise of the women in his life. He doesn’t stop talking about them, not until he sees Rose right where he expected to find her, in front of the Celtic jewelry shop, with Rey standing next to her. What he hadn’t expected, though, was to find them not looking at the jewelry, but seemingly in the middle of a deep discussion with an older woman dressed in one of the more intricate costumes he’s seen at the Faire so far. It’s clear that she’s not just another tourist or person enjoying the festivities for the day. He thinks she must work there.

He’s even more confused that the woman is holding Rey’s hand. He knows Rey’s not the most comfortable with physical touch, especially when it comes from strangers. She had told him once, that with so little of it in her life, she always felt a little awkward accepting and responding to it.

But Rey doesn’t appear to be making any attempt to take her hand back now.

He falters for a moment, wonders who the woman is. But then he sees the woman pat Rey’s hand and walk away, leaving the two women alone once more. He grins at his good timing. He has a mission to complete, after all.

“Rose is the shorter one on the left, in the red dress. Rey’s next to her in the green – she just turned to the side, to talk to Rose, you see them?” Finn asks, keeping his eyes on the two women while he speaks to Poe. They have a good view of Rey’s profile now, and Finn hopes that she doesn’t turn any further and spot them too early. He doesn’t want the surprise ruined.

When several moments pass without any reply, he glances over at Poe. The man is just standing there with his mouth slightly agape, an almost stunned expression on his face. Finn glances back and forth between him and the two women for a moment, watches as Rey moves a couple of feet away to grab another necklace to show Rose, sees Poe’s eyes track her movement.

Finn can’t help but laugh at how suddenly Poe seems to be taken with his friend, even as a slight protective streak briefly courses through him. Rey’s made it clear that she can take care of herself, but he’s promised to have her back, too. His instincts tell him that Poe’s a good man, but still . . .

Poe suddenly seems to realize that Finn had said something to him and gulps a few times as he struggles for words.

Finn hasn’t known him long, but between the way Poe had teased and flirted with and sang to the crowds earlier, he has a feeling that speechlessness is not something the man is used to.

“I’m sorry, yes, I do see them, yes.” Poe lets out a breath, still visibly trying to collect himself. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

Finn tries his best to tamp down his amusement at Poe’s reaction. “Wait right here, I’ll bring them over,” Finn says, before walking over to the two women. Within moments, he’s caught their attention and leads them away from the tent. He keeps ahold of the pastries despite Rey’s grabby hands, with promises that he’ll hand them over at the conclusion.

“The conclusion of what?” Rey asks, eyeing the food.

“Yeah, what is the surprise?” Rose questions immediately after.

“You’ll see,” Finn says teasingly, stepping up to where Poe is waiting, guitar held in his arms waiting to be played. “Ta-da!” He exclaims, arms stretched forward presenting the troubadour to his two ladies.

Poe takes that as his cue to start strumming the guitar. Finn thinks he looks almost nervous, sees his eyes darting between the guitar and the two women, though he notes amusedly that his eyes seem to linger longest on Rey.

Finn marvels at the sweet, rich sound of Poe’s voice.  He looks between Rose and Rey, notices they, too, seem equally entranced.  Rose catches his eye though, smiles sweetly up at him as she moves in closer to snuggle under his arm, urging him down a bit so she can whisper in his ear.

“This is lovely, Finn. Thank you,” she says quietly, punctuating her remark with a kiss to his cheek. She’s not done though, her voice taking on a slightly mischievous quality as she says, “But don’t think you’re totally forgiven yet.”

“This is only the start,” he promises, and he feels the warm, safe feeling that he always gets from looking at Rose take root in the center of his chest. She hugs him a bit closer as they turn back to the troubadour, listening to his song.

A few moments later, she pokes Finn gently in the side. When he looks down at her, she motions for him to bring his ear close once again.

“Have you looked at Rey?” She asks, a laugh just barely held back.

He raises his eyebrow at Rose and shakes his head, and she nudges him back into a standing position. Rose is amused, clearly, but there’s a fondness to it that she only reserves for those closest to her. Before he’s even looked at Rey, he has a feeling he knows what he’ll see. Even more so, he sees the wheels turning in Rose’s head as she begins to plot.

With what he hopes is a subtle movement, he glances towards Rey and almost immediately has to fight back a grin. Her eyes are wide and a soft smile plays at the corner of her mouth. It’s clear that Rey’s walls – usually drawn so protectively around her – are down, as she focuses entirely on the troubadour’s song.

Poe was entranced by Rey from the moment he saw her, and now Finn’s pretty sure the reverse is true as well.

When Poe’s song draws to a close, the last note hanging in the air, he and Rose break into applause. From the corner of his eye he can see Rey’s response, watches at how it’s delayed moments after his. In front of them, Poe jokingly preens, takes a bow or two. His face is redder than before, and Finn thinks he certainly didn’t blush like that after the crowd had applauded for him earlier.

Finn steps away from Rose and Rey, pulls out his wallet once more as he approaches Poe. Poe sees the money in Finn’s hand, tries to wave him away once again. “I can’t take your money, buddy. That was on the house.”

Finn takes his hand and presses the money into it. “You saved my skin. They loved it. Please, take it. And maybe we’ll see you around the fairgrounds?”

Poe cocks his head to the side, studying Finn’s face for a long moment before nodding.

Finn glances quickly over his shoulder once more, before saying, his voice soft, “I haven’t seen either of them – especially Rey – smile like that in a long time. So, thank you.”

Finn steps back to Rose and Rey, waving at Poe over his shoulder.

“That was lovely. Maybe we’ll see him again later,” Rose says, smiling at him as she wraps her arms around him for a quick hug.

Rey’s not paying attention to them, distracted by something behind Finn and Rose. Finn has a guess as to what it is. “Oh, I’m sure of it. Plus, he has a show at the Pub at 6. Maybe we can grab dinner there while waiting for the fireworks?”

Rose catches on quick. “That sounds like a fantastic plan. Don’t you think so, Rey?”

“Hmm?” She’s still distracted, and her eyes seem distant as she glances at them. “Plan? Um, sure, whatever you two want to do is fine with me.”

“Perfect,” Rose says, grinning. “This should be a great day.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Oh! Take a look at this one!” Rey marvels at the delicate, intricate necklace she’s cradling in the palm of her hand and turns to show it to Rose, absolutely sure she would just love it.

But it’s not Rose she comes face to face with.

“Maybe you’d like to take a look ahead?”

Rey startles, quickly assessing the woman who’s standing in front of her. She’s older, maybe in her late fifties, and her frizzy, graying hair is mostly hidden away under a bright, flowing scarf. The woman’s long dress almost touches the ground and showcases a dazzling array of colors. Between the dress itself and another scarf draped around her waist, Rey sees shades of blue and red, even some gold and pink, and she’s sure more colors are hidden away in the folds of the fabric. But Rey is drawn back up to the woman’s eyes, a rich, deep brown clearly visible even behind her large glasses, and they lure her in so completely . . .

Rey clears her throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”

The woman smiles, and it’s both kind and amused, but there’s something else there too, as if she has a secret she wants to tell but is just waiting for the right moment. There’s a certain pull to it and when the woman holds out her hand palm up, Rey automatically starts to lift her arm to let her own hand be cradled in that long-fingered grasp, but then pauses, unsure . . .

Rose suddenly appears behind the woman, eyes wide and excited. “Oh, come on, Rey, do it!”

Rey searches Rose’s face for a long moment, and with a nod, thrusts out her hand palm up. The woman takes it as she leans over, peering at the creases on Rey’s palm with unfathomable eyes. She runs a finger, featherlight, along the lines, tracing one after the other.

“My dear child,” she begins, glancing up at Rey with a knowing look, her voice soft but sure. “Whomever you were waiting for, they’re not coming back. That path ended long ago. Your family is here with you now, and you are bonded with them for life.” She looks back down, moves her finger over, traces another line, this time much slower, as if she was waiting for it to tell her some deep, hidden truth.

“And there is something else, child. Something more. The love and belonging you seek - it is not behind you. Close your eyes . . . feel it. Keep your senses open, my dear. You will find your love soon. It is waiting for you just ahead.”

The woman tips Rey’s hand over, pats the back of it gently, and leaves without further word.

“Wow,” Rose whispers, seemingly as stunned as Rey feels. “That was intense.”

It takes a moment for Rey to clear her head, and she realizes that she didn’t pay the fortune teller for the reading before she left. “I didn’t tip her or anything,” she whispers to Rose, almost embarrassed. She’s had to work for everything in her life. She never wanted to take anything for free.

Rose shakes her head. “Honestly, she came and left so suddenly, I’m not sure she was expecting it. Maybe she was just doing it for some free publicity or something. You know, draw people to her tent later?”

Rey shrugs, uncertain. She’s not really the type to visit a fortune teller anyway, even on a flight of fancy at the Faire.

“Who was that?” Rey hears from behind her, turning to see Finn walking up to her and Rose.

Rey just shrugs again, still feeling a little uneasy after the encounter, while Rose responds, teasingly, “Rey’s about to find her lover boy.”

“Huh?” Finn says, brow furrowing as he glances between the two.

Rey sighs. “Just some wandering fortune teller trying to work up some free publicity. It’s nothing.”

“She said Rey’s about to find love soon,” Rose says while giving Rey an outrageous wink.

Rey expects Finn to give that loud belly laugh he so often does or even join in with Rose’s teasing. Instead, he just cocks his head to the side, a faint grin playing at the corner of his lips. “Huh,” he says, appraisingly. “Maybe.” That faint grin grows wider. “Anyway, I have a surprise for you two. If you’ll follow me,” he says, gesturing them forward with his hands full of coffee and pastries.

Rey goes to grab one of the coffees. It’s too early and there’s too little caffeine in her system to deal with surprises, particularly when it comes attached to Finn’s knowing look.

“Soon,” he says. “Just wait a moment. I’ll hand them over when it concludes.”

“The conclusion of what?” She can’t help but continue to eye the bag of food and the tray of coffees.

“Yeah, what is the surprise?” Rose questions immediately after.

Finn grins. “You’ll see.”

Rey can’t help but pout, even as she continues to follow Finn and the sustenance he carries.

Then she almost trips over him when Finn stops walking. Rose comes to a halt next to them.

“Ta-da!” He exclaims, arms stretched forward.

She warily follows the line of his arms, looking past the coffee, looking past the stretch of space after his hands, sees a guitar and then . . .

And then everything just _stops_.

All Rey had wanted to do that day was eat her weight in turkey legs and spiced pecans and maybe trounce Finn’s and Rose’s asses when it came to throwing some axes. She didn’t even mind the fancy dress so much since it clearly made Rose so happy to have someone participating in the Renaissance Faire festivities with her.

So, she’s feeling a little blindsided when this absolutely beautiful troubadour she doesn’t even know the name of starts strumming his guitar, and suddenly it feels like he’s singing some sweet love ballad directly to her.

 _Get yourself together, Rey_ , she thinks. _It’s his job. He sings some pretty words, makes the girls swoon, gets lots of tips_.

Handsome guys with sweet voices and pretty eyes don’t like girls like her. Besides, she knows better than to fall for a pair of pretty eyes. Pretty eyes can conceal all sorts of dark and malicious hearts.

Those darker thoughts are quickly drowned out, however, as the troubadour continues his song. Soon enough, it’s just her, breathing in breathing out, getting lost in the words and the sound and the voice, and glimpses of those warm brown eyes looking up at her through those long eyelashes, before they quickly dart elsewhere.

Suddenly Rose and Finn are clapping heartily, and it takes her a moment to realize the song has ended, the music lingering in her ears much longer than it lingered in the air, and she raises her hands to clap along with them. The man bows playfully, and she can’t help but admire him a bit more, a cheerful smile gracing his face along with a slight redness along his cheekbones, no doubt from the exertion of playing his song for them.

Finn steps toward the man for a moment. Rose remains standing next to her, and Rey can hear her humming a few bars of the song they’d just heard.

It’s nice, but she’d rather hear it from the troubadour again.

She’s lost in thought when Finn returns and they start ambling off around the fairgrounds, when suddenly she hears Rose, amusement coloring her voice, saying, “That sounds like a fantastic plan. Don’t you think so, Rey?”

“Hmm?” She has no idea what they’ve been talking about, but the look Rose and Finn are exchanging is slightly worrisome. Still, it’s her own fault for not paying attention, so she says, “Plan? Um, sure, whatever you two want to do is fine with me.”

“Perfect,” Rose grins. “This should be a great day.”

Yep. She’s wondering what she’s gotten herself into now.

\--

Rey doesn’t even care that she’s gripping a turkey leg tight in one hand, alternating hefty bites of it with swigs from her cream soda that came in one of the coolest bottles that she’s ever seen (and sure, she had to shell out a few dollars extra for the bottle, but it comes with free refills, and she’s more than certain she’s gonna get her money’s worth from all the cream soda she’s drinking today.)

She knows she’s certainly not cute while gnawing into the turkey leg, couldn’t care less if someone thought she had ladylike manners, but she’s still more than a little amused by a few of the admiring looks from people she passes as she takes a particularly large chunk out of the turkey leg.

She’s also more than a little amused by Finn’s look of disgust as she chews through that large chunk while taking a swig of soda halfway through.

But hey, they’ve been here _hours_ now, she’s worked up an appetite. She went through her pastries and coffee earlier before they had made their way across the grounds to a jousting competition, she had eaten handfuls of spiced nuts while watching a dance program, had kicked Finn’s and Rose’s asses at axe throwing – though Finn gave her more than a little competition at the archery booth – and now she gleefully munches away at her turkey leg while they amble through the shops and along the artisan’s booths.

Not long after she finished her food, and Rose and Finn had stepped away to another small shop, she became distracted by a booth featuring fresh flowers and plants, along with a few handmade flowers. She can’t resist running her fingers along the bright and colorful fabric, even while she admires the scent and the sheer _life_ emanating from a smaller plant towards the back.

She’s about to make her way around the long table towards it, when she hears a familiar sound, a raised voice calling to her from across the small walkway.

“Ah, yes, it’s you. I knew I would see you again.”

Rey turns towards the voice, already expecting to see the fortune teller from earlier. Now she sits behind a small table, an orb resting in front of her and dark, velvety curtains lining the booth behind her. Rey’s still amazed, though, at how this small woman, seemingly even smaller as she sits at her booth, can have such an outsized, commanding presence.

“It’s not surprising to see you here, of course. You’re drawn to the beautiful green and growing things of the world. They call to you, don’t they?”

Rey tilts her head at the odd comments. The woman might have a commanding presence, but she’s more than a little strange, always saying something that keeps Rey just a smidgen off balance.

But Rey shrugs her shoulders anyway. “I like plants. Always have. Didn’t have much opportunity to work with them growing up though, but I like having them around now.”

The fortune teller simply gazes at her, a soft, assessing expression on her face. “Come here, child,” she says, gesturing for Rey to step closer.

Rey is helpless to resist and takes the few steps forward to cross the small path until she’s standing before the old woman.

The woman studies her a long moment, until finally her gaze clears, and she nods, slowly. “Ahh, yes, you’ve met him, I see,” and Rey is confused at the sudden change in topic until she suddenly remembers the fortune teller’s comments from earlier. The old woman continues, “I can see it in your eyes. Now you just have to find him.”

Rey’s just about to ask _Who? What do you mean?_ and she’s honestly so confused and suddenly, inexplicably desperate for answers, when Finn comes up to her, grinning.

“Hey, Rey, there’s a show playing at the pub soon, and Rose wants to go. You in?” Suddenly he seems to notice the booth Rey is standing near, glances over at the woman sitting behind the table, eyes widening in recognition. “Oh, sorry about that. Were you getting a reading or something?”

Rey shakes her head slowly, while the older woman just grins. The fortune teller speaks up. “Maybe another time, then. Sounds like you have something else that you need to do.”

There’s too much laden into those words, and Rey just nods, still a little speechless, before following Finn back to Rose.

Once more she’s lost in her thoughts as they wander through the fairgrounds towards the pub. “And I pretty much had to force him to take the money!” She hears Finn tell Rose as she finally tunes into their conversation, and suddenly realizes that they’re talking about the troubadour from earlier. “He’s a really cool guy. I told him I had a made a huge mistake and he was all in to help me immediately.”

 _Well, crap. A sweet voice and a sweet heart?_ Well, now Rey knew for sure that she wouldn’t even have had a chance. She resolutely tries to ignore the little voice in the back of her head, the one that wishes and hopes and _wants_ that fortune teller’s words to be true, _wants_ the idea of a man seemingly as sweet and kind as the troubadour to be the one the fortune teller was talking about.

She tries to ignore that sharp pang in her heart, tells herself she’s overreacting. They didn’t know each other. They hadn’t even talked. Besides - there’s no such thing as love at first sight.

_But maybe there could be if they just had a little time together._

She gives herself a little internal shake. _Pull it together, Rey._

She blames the fortune teller for putting such sentimental thoughts in her head.

They wander into the covered pavilion, and she’s so distracted that she misses the sign near the entrance announcing the performer. She doesn’t miss the not-so-subtle glances exchanged between Finn and Rose, but she can’t quite figure out what they seem so giggly about even while they go through the process of ordering food and drink for their table.

At least she couldn’t quite figure out the reason, not until a voice rings out into the air announcing the start of the performance, and the troubadour from earlier walks out onto the stage.

She gives the side-eye to an utterly unrepentant Finn and Rose, but her attention is quickly diverted back to the stage. A showman through and through, the troubadour – _Poe, Poe Dameron_ , she recalls the voice announcing – strums away at his guitar, subtly flirting with the audience as he starts his set. There’s not a single section of the audience that is immune to his charms, as he focuses on one part of the room and then the next.

As he finishes his first song, Finn whoops loudly, easily louder than anyone else in the audience, and Poe looks in their direction, a smirk on his face which quickly turns to surprise as he sees them.

His eyes meet hers and she can’t look away, even as his face turns from surprised to pleased to something almost a little shy, and he’s the first to look away, glancing down at the floor then back out at the audience, his face a little redder than before as he starts the next song.

Finn and Rose are cheering loudly beside her, much louder than the rest of the crowd, and she thinks he must be a little embarrassed at the over-the-top attention from the two.

She tunes them out, tunes everyone out until she hears nothing but his voice and the music, and before she knows it, the set is over, and Poe is taking a bow up on the stage. People wander up to the front to drop a few dollars into the tip jar and shake his hand and he accepts all the attention gracefully.

Finn’s pulled out his wallet, asks Rey, “You want to come up there with us?”

She shakes her head no, still feeling more than a little off kilter, and watches as Finn and Rose make their way to the stage.

She stays sitting where she is for a minute, but her throat’s dry, so she decides to head to the bar for another drink. She glances over at Finn and Rose’s empty plates and glasses, wonders if they’d want a refill too, but when she glances over at them, she sees the two caught up in a conversation with a few other Faire goers, their costumes amongst the more impressive ones she’s seen that day.

She sighs and grabs her glass and makes her way to the long bar near the back, sitting heavily down on one of the tall stools. A few moments later, she hears a soft, melodious voice ask, “Is this seat taken?”

She doesn’t even have to turn to see who it is, the voice already having become so familiar to her. She can’t quite stop her smile, soft and a little shy, as she shakes her head and he slides into the seat next to hers.

While the bartender helps out a large group on the other side of the bar, the troubadour turns to face her, a bright smile on his face as he holds his hand out to her. “I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.”

“Rey,” she replies, and her own smile grows to match his as she shakes his hand.

“I know,” he says with a laugh. “Finn couldn’t stop talking about you and Rose.”

Her eyes widen a little at his comment. “Really now? When was this?”

“When I first ran into him this morning and he needed a little help apologizing to, and I quote ‘the two most amazing women on this planet and probably anywhere else in the galaxy,’ end quote.”

“He’s prone to exaggeration,” she says, rolling her eyes even as she feels her cheeks warming, pleased at the way her friend always talks so highly about her (even if he does it so often she thinks she should be used to it by now.)

He shrugs. “Doesn’t seem that way to me,” he replies, a faint red staining the top of his cheeks once more.

While she thinks she should be used to Finn complimenting her, the unexpected compliment from Poe practically blindsides her, and it’s so unexpectedly delightful she wants to squirm in her seat. Instead, the pessimistic part of her brain wins out, as she thinks that the charming troubadour must still be in performance mode. “I thought you’d be off duty from performing now? You don’t have to woo your audience anymore.”

He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “I am off duty now.”

She’s not sure how to respond, looks down at the bar as she can’t quite hide the goofy smile that springs to her face, the warmth that blossoms even brighter in her chest now, but luckily she’s saved when the bartender appears.

Poe ends up buying her a drink and she forgets to wonder where Finn and Rose were at, not when she starts talking about how she’s in school for aeronautical engineering and he mentions he got his pilot’s license soon after graduating high school. He tells her of how he grew up on a small farm, helping his father in the orchard (even if he inadvertently caused a minor amount of destruction one time with a crazy plan to rig various farm tools together to get the job done quicker, he says with an embarrassed grin), and she tells him of her love for growing things after spending her childhood in a desert.

“You started a community garden? Where at?” When she tells him, he laughs, half in surprise and half in glee, exclaiming, “That’s two blocks from where I live! I always wondered who had put that project together, it’s wonderful!”

They talk and talk and talk and suddenly the announcement comes that fireworks are starting in ten minutes, and the lights begin to turn down as everyone makes their way to the edge of the small lake before the show starts.

She and Poe walk together, still caught up in conversation and she feels practically giddy at the attention, at the new sensations that seem to have set themselves up in her chest as the evening winds along. She sees Finn and Rose walking a little ahead of her, before Rose turns and looks over her shoulder, sending Rey a wink that causes Rey to blush. She hopes the dark night conceals the flush as she realizes that Finn and Rose had set this up, had left them alone at the bar and seem intent to continue to do so now. Poe points her to the far edge, where a little hill rolls down to the shore, and they sit together sprawled out on the ground. The light chill causes them both to press a little nearer to the other’s side for warmth, and she hopes the darkness hides her silly grin, at least until she glances at him out of the corner of her eye and notices her expression mirrored in his.

The first firework gets shot off and the crowd murmurs its appreciation as the show begins, and the cheerful noise continues throughout until everyone is cheering and applauding loudly at the height of the show.

It’s not the biggest fireworks show she’s ever seen, but she thinks it must be the nicest. It’s beautiful in its simplicity, with the fireworks being reflected off the lake.

As the show ends and the crowd starts to head for the entrance, Poe stands and holds out a hand to help her up. Once she’s firmly on her own two feet, she lets out a wistful sigh. “I can’t believe how quickly this day passed. I can’t believe it’s already over.” It’s probably been one of the loveliest days she’s ever had, and she can’t help but be sad that the day is at its end.

Poe looks down at the ground and then back up at her, a shy smile on his face as he looks up at her from beneath his eyelashes. “There’s always tomorrow.”

Rey’s mind suddenly flashes back to the fortune teller’s comments from earlier. She gathers together her courage, and before she can talk herself out of it, she blurts out, “Would you like to get coffee with me sometime?”

His smile is dazzling. “I would love that.”

They exchange numbers, and neither of them can stop smiling even as they say goodnight, and she just barely manages not to skip her way back to Finn and Rose who are waiting for her near the entrance.

These things don’t happen to her. She’s not the girl who was lucky enough to belong, to grow up with people by her side who loved and supported her. She’s not the girl who got to dress up and to just play and set aside the harshness of the world for hours on end. She’s not the girl who could meet a charming and sweet guy and have him seem as equally as enamored with her.

But for once, she is. She’s got two wonderful friends – family, really – who love and support her, who have her back, who come along with her to have fun and act silly and escape reality for a few hours. And now she’s met this sweet and charming and goofy singer and they share an almost alarming number of things in common, and who seems excited at the prospect of getting to spend more time in her company.

She reaches Finn and Rose and loops her arms through theirs as they walk back to the car.

For once, she’s excited for what lies ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now that the story is complete, I can't help but want to continue it, if only to work in a new scene where they sing together, à la the Baby, It's Cold Outside duet . . .
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this was supposed to be a straightforward two-chapter fic.
> 
> Then I was struck with the idea of Poe and Rey singing a duet together and, all of a sudden, I had a long multi-chapter story plotted out.
> 
> Fair warning, they don't sing together in this chapter. Or the next. You're going to have to wait for it.

She thinks that her Renaissance Faire dress might have given him unrealistic expectations.

She smooths a hand over her white cable knit sweater and gives herself another once over in the mirror. Her hair is down for once instead of pulled back in its customary bun or ponytail, and the pair of jeans she wears is her nicest, a dark wash that elongates her already long legs.

Well, that’s what Rose said at least. Mainly though, it’s her one pair of jeans that don’t look like they’re as old as she is, and free of rips and holes.

It’s a nice outfit, not too dressy but still probably the nicest she owns. She’s thankful that it’s rainy outside, a cold front passing through for one last hurrah in early spring before warmer weather presides for good.

It’s cozy, too. Comfortable. But certainly quite a different look from when she had first met him.

She doublechecks that her phone and wallet are in her messenger bag before grabbing her umbrella and dashing out the door. She has to jimmy the door handle of her car for a few seconds before it pops open and she slips in out of the rain. It’s a beat up old junker, barely hanging on to life, but she scrapped and saved for it, built it back up herself. She’s proud of it.

Plus, she doesn’t have the money to replace it anytime soon. But with a little elbow grease and ingenuity, she thinks she can eek out a bit more life from it.

It’s a quick drive to the coffee shop and she manages to find a spot around the corner just out of sight. It’s not that she’s embarrassed about her car exactly, it’s just . . .

Well, maybe she is a bit embarrassed. Her pride won’t exactly allow her to admit to her circumstances so easily.

Five minutes before they were scheduled to meet, she walks in. She’s an early bird through and through, and just barely managed to hold off from showing up any earlier. She doesn’t know if she was expecting to see him there already or not and a quick scan of her surroundings reveals Poe sitting at a small table towards the back. They lock eyes almost immediately and she waves at him as he moves to stand and greet her. It’s almost a bit startling to see him in modern clothing, and she can’t help but give him a once over. The troubadour clothes, while certainly befitting the occasion, were almost a bit funny looking, even on the clearly handsome man.

But now. Now, well . . . she has absolutely no complaints. He’s in a pair of dark denim jeans like her, but it’s capped off by a light blue button up, his hand fidgeting with one of the sleeves as she walks towards him.

They pull up right in front of each other, close but not touching. She’s not sure if she should offer him a hug – hugs aren’t really her forte. She briefly thinks of offering him a handshake, but she can just imagine Rose’s voice yelling at her if she’d even try such a move.

Luckily he seems as uncertain as her, and he gestures towards the table, asking “Would you like to sit?”

She nods and smiles shyly as he hastily moves to pull out a chair for her. She’s never had someone do that for her before and she’s oddly touched by the gesture. He goes to sit across from her and she’s just about to thank him, but he slaps a hand to his forehead before she can.

“I should’ve asked first, did you want anything to drink? Or something to eat? A muffin or something?” He asks, hastily standing.

His nervousness is written all over his face. She’s strangely pleased to know she’s not the only one feeling a little discombobulated.

Minutes later, he returns with two large coffees, a small pitcher of cream, and pastries. She eyes the treats, wondering which one she might end up with, as she grabs the sugar packets in the middle of the table to start sweetening her coffee, grinning at his astonished look when she dumps several packets in at once.

“What? I have a sweet tooth,” she says, tearing into a few more packets.

“Clearly,” he says with a smile. He pushes the pastries towards the center of the table where they both could easily reach. “You can choose whichever one you’d like. Or we can split it. I’m cool with whatever.”

He’s offering to share food with her. This is already one of her favorite dates ever.

She tears into the large cinnamon roll, popping a piece into her mouth even as Poe breaks off a slice of the giant cookie.

He’s a bit quieter than she’d expect him to be at first, considering she met him while he was acting as the troubadour at the Renaissance Faire. But they get swept up into conversation quick enough, talking about everything from the latest blockbusters that have come through the local movie theater (“I would just watch them at home where the temperature isn’t five below zero, but I’ve got a thing for movie theater popcorn,” she says, as Poe laughs and responds, “Of course you do. Cause it’s the best.”) and his fondness for singing mid-90’s boybands tunes at karaoke (and he hums a few bars of “Bye Bye Bye” with the corresponding dance moves and she almost falls out of her seat laughing.)

He’s got a pleased smile on his face when she finally manages to recover from her laughter, and she suddenly feels almost a little shy, but then her phone beeps and she sighs.

He nods at her phone. “Time for study group?”

She had mentioned it to him earlier while setting up the date, but she still feels bad that she has to leave. The last hour and a half had passed quicker than she’d expect. She tries to apologize but he waves her off.

“It’s tough enough flying planes. I don’t know how the people who create and build those things actually do it, not to mention actual spacecraft.”

“Sometimes I wonder the same thing,” she says, grinning.

He disposes of their trash before she can make any move for it and holds the door for her as they walk out the building. He doesn’t make a thing about it, which is nice. It’s just sweet. From their interactions at the Renaissance Faire and now, she thinks he’s just that kind of guy, just wanting to do nice things for his friends or whoever else he’d might meet.

The rain has stopped and the sun peeks through a few remaining clouds. It’s nice enough outside to let them linger. They came outside to say their goodbyes but every time they get close to the subject, they just keep talking.  Poe finally glances down at his watch and bites his lip before glancing up at her.

“I shouldn’t keep you any longer,” he says a bit regretfully.

She grins and shrugs. “You weren’t exactly twisting my arm, but I guess I should head out,” she says. “I had a really wonderful time today.”

“Same here. Maybe we can do this again soon?”

She nods, biting down on her lip to conceal the full-blown smile that threatens to break through. She watches as he shifts from one leg to the other and shoves his hands in his back pockets, briefly looking away before meeting her eyes once more.

She’s not sure if he’s thinking of kissing her. She’s not really the type of person who kisses anyone on a first date, always a little less than keen on physical affection so soon after meeting a person.

But she thinks she wouldn’t say no to it now.

She quickly glances down at his lips. Yeah, she wouldn’t mind it from him.

He shifts from one foot to the other again. “Text me later to let me know you got home safe?”

She agrees. After a few more moments, she reluctantly says her final goodbye.

She’s never hated studying aeronautical engineering so much before. But still, once she’s slid behind the steering wheel of her car, she can’t help the smile that blooms across her face.

\--

She drops her messenger bag by the door the moment she drags herself into her tiny apartment that evening. Before she’s even finished toeing off her shoes, she’s pulled out her phone to let Poe know that she’s arrived home safe.

She’s torn between taking a long shower and then falling into bed, exhausted from the study session that went late into the evening, and grabbing a snack from the kitchen first. She makes her decision, dropping her cell phone on the kitchen counter before grabbing a granola bar from the pantry. She happily munches into it as she heads toward the bathroom, already tossing off her sweater and loosening her pants as she practically daydreams about the shower she’s only a few short moments away from.

Then her phone dings and she stops.

It’s probably not Poe, she thinks. It’s late and she shouldn’t expect him to text back so quickly. It’s probably Finn. He’s a night owl like her.

One foot hesitantly steps toward her bathroom. Maybe it was Poe.

She turns and heads back for the kitchen, smiling when she sees his name across the screen.

_Glad you made it home safe. How was the study session?_

She grins and texts back a quick reply before hopping into the shower, scrubbing herself down in mere moments.

There’s a text waiting for her when she gets out. Even as she towels herself dry and changes into her pajamas, a soft pair of flannel to ward off the late night chill, they keep a steady stream of texts going.

Only when her eyes start drooping closed, unable to stay open for more than a few seconds at a time, does she finally say good night.

She drifts off to sleep with the words of his last text playing behind her eyelids.

_Sweet dreams, sunshine._

\--

She awakens to a peculiar rhythm of knocks against her front door.

She has half a mind to ignore those knocks as it’s much too early. She peeks her head out from under her covers to glance at her alarm clock.

_Okay. Not that early . . ._

It doesn’t really matter anyway. Rose and Finn have a key to her apartment and Rey knows either one of them will let themselves in anyway. Especially Rose when she’s in a nosy mood, and that particular knock belongs to her.

They really only knock just to let Rey know it’s them. The first time they tried it without warning her, she almost took them out with her trusty baseball bat.

She grew up in a rough part of town, and she lives in a rough part of town now. If worse comes to worse, she’s going down swinging.

She hears Rose puttering around the kitchen and sighs, reluctantly dragging her feet to the floor. She loves her friend, she really does. But at this moment, she loves her warm bed and three heavy blankets more.

At least until she gets to the kitchen and there’s a giant cup of coffee and a box of glazed donuts waiting for her on the counter.

“A dozen?” She asks in amused disbelief as she glances in the box, before selecting a few and placing them on her plate.

“Just in case you had company,” Rose says nonchalantly, before taking a sip of her coffee.

Rey raises an eyebrow at Rose. “Just me here, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, what a pity. He’s cute. It would have been nice to get a glimpse,” Rose says, biting into a donut. “I guess that means more donuts for me though!”

Rey shakes her head at her friend, who just gives her a wide grin in response, half-chewed food visible and all.

They settle into a pattern of eating their donuts and gossiping about Rose’s work. Rose works at a mechanics shop on the other side of town, and even though it’s her day off, she can’t help but talk about it.

Granted, their gossiping mostly involves Rose describing the amazing variety of cars that come through there any given week. The shop is on the boarder between the wealthier and poorer parts of town, and as it’s the only place for miles (not to mention one of the best in the region), Rose sees everything from junkers to the fancier models.

Rose knows Rey has a particular interest in the junkers. After all, she pretty much built her own car from scrap. Rose’s intel gives Rey a pretty good idea when cars could be scavenged and she could make an extra buck or two by buying a car and selling it for scrap – at least when she has the extra money on hand to do so.

Rose just started telling her about a pristine Jaguar that got dropped off yesterday, when Rey’s phone dings in the middle of her sentence. She’s just about to apologize to Rose for the interruption, but when she glances up, Rose is looking at her with a sly smile on her face.

“Poe?” Rose asks, a teasing lilt to her voice.

Rey hopes she’s not blushing, chastising herself for getting worked up just over his name, but at least she can be honest when she says, “No. Just Hera,” referring to one of her study partners. Rose nods in recognition of the name, as Rey quickly texts a reply and says, “One of the problem sets is a little off. She just wanted to give us a heads up before class on Monday.”

She sets her phone aside to grab her coffee, but before she can take a sip, her phone dings again.

“Hera’s getting an early start on the studying,” Rose says.

“She’s always been the most responsible of us,” she replies, her brow furrowing as she reads the text.

“What is it?” Rose asks, concerned.

Rey sighs. “Apparently Ben stopped by the library a little after I left last night. He stopped Hera as she was leaving, asking if she’d seen me.” Rey texts a quick thank you to Hera for the heads up before setting her phone aside once again.

“Ugh, what is that asshole doing?”

Rey shakes her head. “Nothing good, that’s for sure.”

“You know that if he starts prowling around or trying to mess with you again, you can always call me or Finn to come pick you up, right? Especially if Hera and the rest of them aren’t there, you should call us.”

Rey nods. “I’ve got the campus police in my phone, too.” She smiles at Rose, hoping to reassure her friend. Rose still looks concerned.

“I’m not kidding. If he starts stalking or harassing you again-”

“You’ll be my second call,” Rey interrupts. Rose looks briefly aghast, but Rey continues, “Right after I call the police.”

“Smart, brave girl,” Rose says, satisfied at Rey’s answer.

Rose and Finn had been there when the graduate student had first taken an interest in Rey when she had transferred into the program. To others, it seemed clear that Ben had almost instantly been obsessed with Rey. To her, Rey thought it was just an intense infatuation and agreed to a date, thinking that she needed to get out of her shell and meet new people, and he seemed smart and interested in at least a few of the same subjects as her. But after a few dates, she had discovered so much more about him, and he quickly turned controlling, wanting to separate Rey from her friends and telling her that she was nothing except to him.

Luckily, she had Finn and Rose in her life, and those two sweet, affectionate, loving people had always shown her that she was so much more than nothing. That she could be somebody, _was_ somebody, even without Ben’s approval. “You go on a few dates with a guy and find out he’s a violent neo-Nazi wannabe with an arrest record. Dodged a bullet there.”

“You sure did, girl,” Rose says, tipping her coffee cup towards Rey’s own to clink them together.  “Speaking of dates,” she trails off with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Rey pauses, unsure of where to start. There’s a part of her that wants to keep it a secret, conceal the happy feelings away for a little longer where she knows no one can touch them. But it’s Rose, and Rey wants to tell her. She trusts her.

She doesn’t realize that she’s smiling down at the table, lost in the memory of the date, until Rose hoots and exclaims, “I knew it’d be good! Tell me all about it!”

Rey starts talking, not even realizing she’s rambling about all the minute details of the date, of what he wore and what he said and how he let her have the last bites of all the treats he had bought for them. She’s lost in describing the part of their conversation where they had both been geeking out over some long ago science fiction movie, when she sees Rose sitting across from her, her elbow propped on the table and her chin propped in her hand, an affectionate, if smug, smile gracing her face.

Rey trails off, realizing she’s been rambling in her excitement. Her smile, however, remains firmly fixed on her face.

“It was a good date, then,” Rose says, happily.

“It was a very good date.”

“Did you kiss him?”

Rey shook her head firmly. “No. No, it was just a coffee date, you know?”

Rey thinks that maybe the next date, though, that it could be a possibility.

Rose seems to be on the same page. “Maybe on the next date then,” she says, briefly pausing. “There is going to be a next date, right?”

Rey laughs. “Yeah, we set it up last night,” she says, recalling the late night text conversation.

“Good. He seems like a good guy. This could be good for you,” Rose says, and Rey hopes it to be true. She was burnt by the last guy she dated. Her self-preservation instinct had always warned against trusting people too easily, and when she had briefly lost her head with Ben, well . . . she’s cautious. She thinks that Poe is trustworthy. She certainly hopes her instincts about him are correct.

Only time will tell, but she’s looking forward to learning if her instincts about him are right. She hopes she can live up to whatever instincts he has about her, too.

“So, has your group come to a decision about the topic for the final project?”

She nods, already launching into a description of the project as Rose leans in and listens eagerly.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s a little after noon, and the day is sunny and comfortably warm. She’s studying outside, her books spread out on the little table near the student union, letting the sun warm her skin as she slowly reviews her notes from class that morning. She’s relaxing, taking a short break before returning to work, when she sees the most delightful golden retriever, its tail wagging happily, walking across campus with its owner. She snaps a picture and sends it off to Poe before she even thinks about it.

The reply is immediate. _Nice!!_

A moment later and she receives a picture of a corgi sprawled out on a couch, grinning up at the camera. Rey knows it’s Beebee, the dog she’s heard so much about.

She sends back a few heart emojis along with a question. _Working from home today?_

_Yep. Had a few videoconferences this morning and then a couple of field interviews later this afternoon. Just thinking about lunch now, actually. What about you?_

Rey is a little jealous that he can work from home with an adorable dog at his feet, when she’s stuck in classes all morning. He told her about his job as a community organizer assisting veterans in the local community at their coffee date, and, as she glances down at her textbook and her various notebooks, it sounds much nicer than the topic she’s studying right now.

_On campus waiting for my next class at 2:00_ , she texts back, quickly glancing at her phone’s clock. She’s still got plenty of time before class starts. _Taking a break for a couple minutes before diving back into work._

_You eat yet?_

_Not yet_ , she replies, not even looking towards the student union. Lines are usually long near lunchtime and the food is overpriced and typically stale. _I’ve got plenty of snacks though_.

_How about tacos?_

She bites her lip. Tacos sound good, but she’s thinking about the time it would take to go somewhere, to eat, and then get back. She’s not sure if she can do that and keep studying.

His next text comes through a moment later. _There’s a taco truck a few minutes from where I live, maybe five minutes from campus. I can meet you there with food if you’d like. You don’t even need to stop studying. I just figure we both need to eat, and I could use a few minutes in the sun, anyway._

Her stomach growls loudly. She really wouldn’t have been able to resist anyway, but if Poe is offering to bring her tacos and sit there with her while she finishes the last of her problem sets, well . . .

_I’m outside the student union, on the south side where all the tables are._

_Perfect. See you in a bit._

Less than twenty minutes later, Poe shows up, a bright smile on his face and a large bag of tacos in his hand.

Poe was true to his word. They chat for a little while, and when she reluctantly told him she needed to return to studying, he sat quietly eating his food while she ate her tacos one-handed so she could turn the pages of her textbook with the other. Once his tacos were done, he pulled out his own work from his messenger bag, scrolling through his iPad while jotting down notes into his notebook. It’s nice, working with him so close by, and she happily studies with more focus than she had shown before lunch.

Once, she glances up from her coursework and sees him with his eyes closed, his face tilted up to the sun, the light shining off his warm brown curls. He looks peaceful, and she’s absolutely enthralled.

A moment later, he opens his eyes and sees her looking at him. She was caught, and he winks at her, a hint of that charming troubadour from the Faire shining through in that moment. She feels her cheeks flush and can’t quite stop a shy smile from gracing her face. His face softens and he smiles back, not shy like hers, but clearly happy at causing her to smile.

A long moment passes, their eyes locked together, before his phone buzzes and interrupts the moment. She sees a calendar alert on his phone and he glances at it briefly and sighs, before standing and collecting their trash.

“I’ve gotta get back to work,” he says, and she glances down at the time on her phone. She needs to start making her way across campus herself pretty soon. She sees him bite his lip briefly before he asks, “Maybe I can see you later?”

She smiles happily. “Absolutely.”

He nods, a bright smile on his own face. A few minutes later and he’s heading off and she tries to focus on the last of her notes.

Work doesn’t seem nearly as interesting now.

\--

On Saturday morning, she wakes up practically giddy.

After a busy week, she finally has a day off. She’s not scheduled to work at the community garden she started until next week, her study group isn’t meeting again until tomorrow evening, and she had switched her shift at the flower shop she works at part-time to last night so she could take today off.

Poe’s taking her to breakfast (or more accurately, brunch - apparently, they both _really_ like to sleep in when they can) and then to the aquarium. For a girl who grew up in the desert, she loves not only the green, growing things of the world, but also the entire universe that seems to exist in _all that water_.

She showers and dresses quickly, eager to get in her car and meet him at his place before they head out.

Of course, her plans are foiled when her junk heap of a car fails to start. Apparently the universe is attempting to balance out all the happiness and eagerness she felt about today’s plans with Poe. She slams her open palm against the dashboard in frustration, before quickly whispering an apology to her car.

She rebuilt her baby by hand, it’s her pride and joy. She just wished it had given her a warning before it did something like this.

She needs the car. Public transportation isn’t too reliable that far out from town, Finn’s and Rose’s schedules are too different from hers to rely on them for rides, and she can’t afford taxis.

Nor can she afford to bring it to a mechanic’s shop and Rose is out of town today, too.

She’ll have to take care of it herself.

She pulls out her phone, reluctantly texting Poe to cancel the date. She hates to do it, but she has no choice. In the meantime, she heads back inside to change into the ratty old clothes she wears when she works on her car and to grab her tools.

She’s halfway through pulling her hair up into its customary three buns (it’s a superstition more than anything, she had worn her hair like this the first time she successfully started her car after rebuilding it) when her phone beeps.

She thinks Poe is just going to say something along the lines of good luck and they’ll reschedule, but his reply surprises her.

_That sucks! Want a hand? I can’t promise I’m any good, but I used to tinker in the garage with my dad all the time. I’m sure I could hand you the right tools at least._

Rey grins, a particularly amusing memory of the one time Finn “helped” her fix her car, where it took her almost twice as long than usual to repair because he had absolutely no idea which tools were which.

He was excellent at keeping her and Rose amused while they worked and handing them cold drinks and getting lunch for them, though.

She hesitates in sending her reply. Her car was a junker but she was still proud of it, and she’d hate someone to see it when it was at less than its best. Not to mention, she didn’t live in the best area, and while she could take care of herself, sometimes it felt a little too vulnerable to show others what she might be lacking.

But she did want to see him though, and he was going to see her car eventually anyway. And while her neighborhood may have been rundown, it was mostly safe and the neighbors were good people. She swallowed her pride and texted him back with her address.

She finishes getting ready and heads back out to the corner of the lot. It was her usual spot, plenty of room in case she needed to work on her car, and she felt grateful that no one really competed with her for it. She had just finished setting up and spreading out her tools when he arrived. She sees him glance around the apartment complex briefly, but his face doesn’t change from its normally friendly expression and he doesn’t say anything about her place, just gives her the same broad smile that always seems to come to him so easily.

“So this is it, the car I’ve heard so much about,” he says, running a hand along the side of it as he walks up. “I’m glad to finally meet her.”

His voice is warm, no hint of teasing to it, and she’s both pleasantly surprised and pleased at his positive reaction to it. She says, with more than a little pride for her baby, “Yep, this is it. Took me the better part of a year to scavenge all the parts and put it together. It’s a piece of junk, but it’s my piece of junk.”

“It’s not a piece of junk. What it is, is impressive. Not many people could do what you’ve done.”

She turns her gaze back towards the car, pretending to give it an assessing once over while trying to hide just how delighted she was with the compliment.

Poe shrugs off his jacket and lays it on the ground near her toolbox before clapping his hands together once. “Alright. Tell me how I can help.”

It turns out he’s more help, practically speaking, then Finn. He’s a useful extra set of hands, handing her the correct tool she needs within mere moments of her requesting it and capably helping her in the engine’s innards when she needs it. He even spots one issue before she does and quickly identifies the cure.

So, yeah. In a manner of speaking, he’s certainly very helpful.

In another way . . . not so much.

There’s only so much room to work in front of the car, even less when they’re both working on the same, very small, portion of it. In the spring sunshine they stand close together and she can feel the warmth of his body pressed along her side. His short sleeves reveal tan, muscular forearms, and she can’t help but watch as his fingers, agile and adept, work in the engine. Once, while he’s leaning in to take a closer look at what he’s doing, she glances over at him, catches sight of a bead of sweat rolling down his neck, and is overcome with the urge to lick it away.

She blinks hard and tries to focus on the work once more.

In short, he’s also very distracting.

It probably takes a little longer for them to fix the problem than it strictly should have and she blames him entirely. Earlier on she had caught a break and managed to step inside for a few minutes to catch her breath alone when they needed to replace one of the parts (“You have that part already?” he asked a bit incredulously, and she just looked at him and said, “Well, yeah. You never know when you might need a part, and there was one at Rose’s shop that was about to be junked so they let me take it.” She shrugged and left him behind at her car while she jogged back into her apartment to retrieve it.) She might also have taken the opportunity to splash some water on her face before returning.

But once they’re done, she closes the hood with a satisfied smile before catching the grease rag he tosses her way to wipe her hands with. She’s filthy and sweaty, but so is he, and she’s riding high on the satisfaction of a job well done.

“Impressive job,” he says, grinning at her. “Not many people could’ve done what you just did.”

He holds out a bottle of water to her, and she sidles up to him, a smirk on her face. “You think so?”

“I know so,” he says, a look on his face that suggests absolute confidence in his answer. “You’re a very impressive woman, Rey.”

His expression shifts then, his smile growing softer, his eyes a little fonder, even as there’s something else behind them too, something a little hungrier, something a little _more_.

She takes the bottle of water he’s still holding out for her and takes a large drink from it. She’s thirsty for more, but she sees the way his eyes track the movement of her mouth and throat, and she lowers the bottle back down to her side.

They’ve spent a long day together. They’ve had a few, albeit short, dates together. She thinks he’s going to kiss her. He must want to kiss her now.

She moves in a step closer and lets her eyes drop down to his lips, is about to ask for it if he doesn’t make a move for it himself –

And then he clears his throat and takes a step back.

“Oh wow, I am so gross right now,” he says, leaning his head down a little to take a sniff of his shirt’s collar where sweat stains the fabric. He makes a face. “And I stink. Badly. I should um, probably head out and get washed up, you know?”

She’s a little stunned. Did she misread the situation? Does he not want to kiss her? Maybe he thinks she’s the one who’s gross and smells bad, and oh god, she should never have invited him over, he didn’t seem to be the type who would find a girl who does manual labor repulsive, but what was she thinking and –

He takes another step back, but he’s still smiling softly at her. She would almost call it fond but that can’t be right, he’s picking up his jacket and slinging it over his arm as he walks away from her.

“This was amazing. Honestly, watching you work was – well, it was very impressive. I’ll call you later when I’m not such a mess, okay?”

And she nods, confused, and watches as he gets in his car. He rolls down his window and she thinks he might be about to say something, a pensive expression marring his handsome face, but he just stretches his hand out the window and waves at her as he drives away.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey groans loudly, letting her head flop to the table, burying it in her arms. “Oh my god, what have I done?”

“Girl, you haven’t done anything. I don’t know what that boy’s problem is, any one in their right mind would want to kiss you,” Rose says around a mouthful of pasta.

Rey’s voice is muffled from where her head still lays cradled in her arms. “But I was gross and smelly and–”

“I’m sure you weren’t,” Finn starts but Rose waves him off.

“You probably were, but girl, you’re hot when you’re getting all mechanical and shit.”

Rey bursts out laughing while Finn stares at Rose. Rose just shrugs. “What, I have _eyes_ ,” she replies indignantly while swirling another bite of pasta around her fork. An amused grin pulls at Finn’s lips, and he chuckles as he heads back into the kitchen.

Rey finally lifts her head and leans back in her chair, her hands gesticulating wildly as she starts to talk. “But you should’ve seen it! I thought there was something, but then there wasn’t, and I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I don’t know what that boy was thinking,” Rose says, before pointedly jabbing her fork towards Rey. “But neither do you. You know who does though? Poe. You should talk to Poe.”

“For the record, I’m fairly confident that Poe wants to kiss you. I mean, like from the moment he met you, he was all heart eyes,” Finn says, popping his head into the room just long enough to feign a swoon.

Rey glares at them both, as much as she can ever muster at her best friends, but there’s no real heat behind it. She just feels terrible. Ever since he left, the worst of her insecurity and self-doubts have been swirling around inside her.

Not that anyone but Rose and Finn could see that. She’s a pro at putting up a brave front, well adept at ensuring no one else sees her weakness.

“I know you’re anxious and over thinking things cause a lot of people haven’t stuck around in your life or put in an effort. But that’s their problem, not yours. You’re one of the most amazing people we know, and anyone would be lucky to have you in their life,” Rose says, reaching over to clasp Rey’s hand in reassurance. “But Rey, there’s a lot of reasons that someone might be a little uncertain or anxious about how to proceed forward at the beginning of a relationship. I don’t know what his deal is and neither do you, and maybe you’re just letting your own deal overcomplicate things in your head. You two just need to talk it out soon. So, let it go for now and just breathe.”

Rey blinks slowly when Rose concludes her speech. It’s good advice. But like most good advice, it’s easier said than done.

Finn breaks the silence first. “My girlfriend is so smart,” he says, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Rose’s head. “And I think she’s right. You just need to forget about it for now and relax.”

Rey nods, slowly, before she lets a smile break out across her face. “Anyone down for some Super Mario Kart?”

“Oh, you’re on,” Finn says, already heading into the living room. “I’m gonna kick your ass so hard!”

Rey cackles as she follows him. “In your dreams!”

\--

She tried her best to let it go. She tried her best to not let herself become some ball of anxiety before actually speaking to him, but she was less than successful.

She was a bit of an introvert, caught in her own head more often than not, and despite her best attempts at distraction, she never could fully follow Rose’s advice.

It always seemed like she was pulled in ten different directions at once. There was school in an insanely competitive program, and then a part-time job in order to help make ends meet, to fill in the gaps that scholarship money couldn’t (and it’s not exactly like she had rich family like some other students in her program). Then there was her little community garden which she started and loved dearly, and only slowly was learning to cede some control over. In the limited time she had remaining, she was devoted to Finn and Rose. She didn’t have many other friends – she was too busy and often too lacking in many of the social graces (nor did she really much care to learn them) that many of her peers had.

Unlike her, though, Poe seemed to have it all together. She knew he was a community organizer, always seeking out new ways to help. He had a loving father and a large extended family. He had a pilot’s license, which she’s always dreamed about getting. He was sweet and kind and good, and she can’t help but wonder what he sees in her.

Somehow her thoughts have distracted her so completely that she failed to pay attention to where she was walking and, without warning, found herself outside the door of the local art gallery where she was meeting Poe. One of the local veterans he had assisted in reacclimating into daily life after military service was putting on an art show, and Poe had invited Rey along.

She smoothed down her dress, grateful that the late spring warmth meant she could forego a jacket and the awkwardness of figuring out what to do with it (keep wearing it? Suffer through a coat check? Carry it around and hope you don’t drop your drink and those little canapé thingies that she hopes will be served on it?) and stepped inside, glancing around the crowd. She sees Poe in the back corner talking to a small group of people, and when he spots her, he waves her over.

He greets her with a bright smile, gently resting one of his hands on the small of her back before turning to introduce her to the two people he’s speaking with, a tall, bearded man and a woman with a shock of bright blonde hair atop her head, both of whom are already looking at her warmly, if a bit more eagerly than she would have expected.

“This is Rey Jakku. Rey, this is Snap Wexley and Karé Kun,” he says, and she shakes their hands as they hold them out to her.

She likes them immediately. Snap is clearly the oldest in their little group, but she likes the visible lines around his mouth and eyes. They make him seem warm and genuine, like someone who’s clearly smiled and laughed a lot in his life. His wife, as she soon learns, is confident and smart and snarky, whose brashness fades into something a little softer every time she looks at her husband (at least when her teasing isn’t directed at him, in which case that softer look is accompanied by an additional twinkle in her eye).

As for Snap, he looks at Karé like she hung the moon.

She finds out that Poe and Karé work together, while Snap is an assistant in their Congresswoman’s office. Clearly, they were all close, longtime friends, but she likes them immediately, and they easily include her in their conversation as they walk around to look at the art. She learns all about Poe from Snap and Karé, who can’t resist telling her about their friend, from the whip smart and highly energetic co-worker, to the dedicated and compassionate advocate, to the funny and reliable and warm friend. She tells them a little about herself, glossing over her past personal history and talking about her interest in aeronautics. Granted she can talk about the topic for ages anyway considering how much she loves it, but it’s always guaranteed to sound a little impressive and to start a conversation.

“So how did you meet Poe?” Karé asks, grabbing drinks from a nearby tray and handing one to Rey.

“Oh, well,” Rey starts before she sees Poe’s eyes go comically wide and she trails off, confused.

“Oh, you know, just around,” Poe manages to stutter out, a reddish tinge already appearing on his cheeks.

“Around?” Karé says and quickly glances between Poe and Rey. “Ohhh,” she drawls, knowingly. “You met him at the Renaissance Faire, didn’t you?” She laughs, amused but not mocking.

Snap nudges Poe in the ribs with his elbow. “We tease him about it cause he gets a little over the top sometimes about the Renaissance Faire,” he says, winking at Poe when Poe grumbles at him good-naturedly. “Very, very enthusiastic about the whole deal. He just loves it. But that’s our Poe for you.”

Rey giggles, already caught up in Snap and Karé’s charm. “Yep, he was the troubadour my friend hired to sing for me and his girlfriend as an apology. Just turned around and there he was, singing some sweet love song.”

Karé laughs. “That _is_ our Poe. Quite the romantic.”

Snap presses his hand to his heart and flutters his eyelashes teasingly. “Making all the girls swoon with that voice. What I wouldn’t give to have half that talent,” he says.

Karé raises an eyebrow. “Oh, is that right?”

“I would never stop serenading my best girl,” he replies with a charming grin, lifting Karé’s hand to press a quick kiss to the back of it.

Rey watches as Karé shakes her head and smiles at Snap’s antics. Poe leans in and whispers, “They’ve been together for at least five years, but I don’t think they’ve ever left the honeymoon phase.”

“And they call you the romantic,” she says with a smirk, watching as the tips of his ears go red even as he tilts his head back to laugh.

Soon enough they’re all wrapped up in conversation again, and she’s still there trying to reconcile the two Poe’s, the romantic troubadour she met at the Faire and the one who stands next to her now, the one who seems unable to take a step forward with her.

\--

“Champagne and those little snack thingies are good–”

Rey busts out laughing. “Snack thingies?”

“Oh hush,” Poe says good naturedly, gently bumping her shoulder with his. “As I was saying, champagne and snack thingies are good, but nothing beats post-art show hot dogs,” he finishes, taking the food from the street corner vendor and handing Rey a hot dog and soda.

They make their way to a bench a couple of feet away and sit down.

“God, I’m so hungry I think I could eat this in one bite,” she says, pretending to sigh pathetically as she looks at the hot dog.

“Gotta admit, that’d be one of the more impressive things I’ve ever seen,” he says, and bursts out laughing when she acts as if she’s about to try exactly what she said.

Instead she backs off at the last moment and just takes a large bite out of the hot dog. It’s still more than she probably should’ve bitten off, and she laughs while trying to hide the fact that her cheeks now bulge out, eerily reminiscent of a chipmunk’s, while she chews her food.

“That hit the spot. The very, very empty spot,” she says after a few minutes, turning to him as she swallows the last of her food and brushes her hands off.

“That’s very, very true. Waiters carrying little trays with snacks do not make for a filling dinner,” he concludes, grinning back at her, before his eyes drop to her lips. “Hold on, you’ve got a little something,” he says, motioning to the corner of his own lips.

She brings a hand up to wipe whatever it is away – probably some crumbs or leftover ketchup, she bets – but he shakes his head.

“No, the other side,” and, cradling her chin in his palm, uses his thumb to gently wipe at her lip.

His hand lingers, eyes still focused on her lips, and she debates leaning in when his eyes lift to hers. Their gazes lock together, and she thinks it’s going to happen as his eyes drop to her lips once more, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he visibly swallows.

His hand then pulls away and it drops back into his lap and she sits there feeling a little stunned.

He breaks the silence first, “If you’re still hungry, we–”

“Do you not want to kiss me?” She doesn’t mean to be so blunt, not really, but it’s her default mode most of the time and the words slip out before she can think better of it.

Poe’s eyes widen and he stares at her for a long moment. She thinks his silence says everything, and she feels the horrible prickling sensation of tears starting to well up in her eyes, but she blinks them back. It hurts but there’s nothing she can do about it. If he doesn’t feel the same way about her as she does him, well, she’s just going to have to accept that.

“It’s okay,” she says, gaze dropping down to her lap. She reaches over and starts fumbling with her purse. “It’s okay if you don’t, I understand. I should probably head home though–”

Poe’s voice is low, a little husky, as he interrupts her. “No. No, you’ve got it all wrong.” She glances up and he looks positively stricken as his eyes search her face. “Please don’t go.”

“Okay,” she says slowly, her hand easing her bag back down next to her once again.

His eyes follow her movements and he sighs in relief as she relaxes into the bench. He’s sitting straight up though, still tense, and his hands fidget where they rest in his lap.

“It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you. I really do,” he begins, softly. He runs a hand through his hair, eyes casting about as he searches for what to say. “It’s just – it’s complicated.”

“Why’s it complicated?”

He glances at her and his eyes look so, so sad that her heart can’t help but clench a little in agony.

He sighs and leans back. “I want to do it right. I want it to be right, you know? I’ve seen how relationships can go wrong for so many reasons, and I’m–” and he waves a hand about as he struggles for the right word before it drops to his lap once more, “scared. I’m scared.”

She reaches over and places her hand on top of his. He turns his hand over until they’re palm to palm and gently clasps hers.

“I was seven when my mother died. She and my father had a love story for the ages. I heard all about it from my grandparents and cousins and other family – I’ve got a huge family. They’re always getting together and talking. My pa doesn’t talk about it much, but the rest of them sure did.  I can remember bits and pieces of her, fragments of memories. But it’s mostly just feelings, you know? I know she was warm and loving and had the biggest heart – and I know it almost killed my pa when she passed. And he’s – he’s just the best, he really is. Always has been, but he was never the same after she died, not really. He gave me her ring. I carry it around with me to this day,” he says, and places his other hand atop his chest, just below where she can see a chain disappearing into his shirt.

He trails off and he wipes his other hand over his face, but she senses he’s not done yet, just gathering his strength again for the next part of his story. The hand that’s holding hers tightens gently and she squeezes back, hoping she can impart some strength into him too. “I guess I was always destined to be a bit of a romantic after that. A little over the top sometimes, too,” he says with a rueful smile. “I had a couple of girlfriends and boyfriends throughout high school,” and she catches him glancing at her out of the corner of his eye at that, but she’s not bothered in the slightest, and he seems to sense that as he continues, “but it wasn’t until I had finished college that I really fell in love for the first time. Anthony Muran,” he says, his voice breaking gently. “That was his name. He was a pilot in the Navy and I . . . I fell hard. Head over heels. Over the next few years he was back and forth a lot with his tours of duty, and I even thought of joining to try to be with him. In the end though, I stayed here.”

He pauses and sniffs hard and she senses that he’s on the verge of tears. She rubs her thumb up and down the side of his hand and sees him swallow hard as he struggles to continue. “We kept in touch as much as possible while he was overseas. Phone calls, emails, Skype when we could. And then they stopped coming. The news had mentioned an attack on a base out there, but I never considered, I never thought – it took them a few days to dig through the rubble and identify everyone. His brother called me the day they found out. That was just over a year ago.”

He wipes a hand over his eyes, before he continues, “I’m an over the top romantic who’s terrified of watching as another relationship just disappears and ends before its time. Before I met you, I thought I might never find someone again, and if I did, I wanted to wait and really make sure, cause I didn’t know if I could take another heartbreak.”

He lifts their hands and presses a kiss to the back of hers. “And then I met you. I think I’ve known it from the start but every minute I spend with you only confirms it further. And maybe I’ve scared you away with all this, and I wouldn’t blame you. But sweetheart, to answer your question, yes, I really, really want to kiss you. But I want to do it right. I want to make it special, not over your car’s engine or on a bench after I bought you hot dogs. It should be special, because you’re special, and you deserve it.”

“It would be special no matter what, cause it’s you,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. Her heart throbs at the thought of how much pain he’s been through, at how much trust he’s placed in her by telling her all this. She doesn’t really know what to say, but she thinks he deserves her trust, too. “But thank you for telling me all that. For what it’s worth, there’s no way in hell you could scare me away, and I really, really want to kiss you, too. I want to be with you. I’ve never had many relationships, really. Romantic or otherwise. The last guy I went on a few dates with turned out horribly. I’m not sure how good I would be at this, but everything is telling me that you’re worth it.”

The smile he gives her is a little watery, but brilliant nonetheless. “Then will you give me a chance to do it right?”

She smiles and nods. The answer is undeniable. “Absolutely.”


	6. Chapter 6

“You know, he’s seen you in a dress before.”

“I know,” Rey responds, trailing off.

Rose cocks her head to the side. “Is it cause you’re not used to wearing dresses?”

“No, it’s just . . .” and she trails off again with a shake of her head, tugging at the fabric of her dress a bit more.

Rose comes to stand next to Rey so they were both visible in the mirror and assesses Rey’s reflection. “Then what is it?”

Rey sighs. “I don’t know. I know the first time he saw me I was in a dress, but it was that whole Renaissance Faire type outfit, you know? Now, it’s just – I don’t know. Does this seem like I’m coming on too strong?”

Rose laughs loudly, the sound seemingly both amused and surprised. At Rey’s responding huff, she waves a hand in front of her face as if to calm herself down. “Oh honey. This is most definitely not ‘too strong.’ You’re just not used to getting all dressed up,” she says, running a hand over the sleeve of Rey’s dress ostensibly to smooth it down, but which was more reassuring than anything. “And maybe you’re a little nervous?”

Rey’s back straightens as she responds, “I’m not nervous.” Rose just quirks an eyebrow, and Rey sighs, slumping a little, knowing she’s been caught. “Okay. Maybe I’m a little nervous,” she says, eyeing herself in the mirror once more. Her hair is down for once, and she’s wearing minimal makeup, which is also a bit unusual for her, but Rose pouted until she let her help with it. It’s the outfit that catches her eye, though. She’s wearing a dark green sheath dress with long sleeves but a short skirt, and she tugs at the hem again. “Are you sure it’s not too short?”

Rose puts her hand on her hips and nods towards their reflection in the mirror. “If I had legs like yours, I’d be showing them off every chance I got in outfits much shorter than this. Plus, they’re like ten miles long, most dresses probably seem short to you.” Rose scrunches her brow as she faces Rey. “Are you uncomfortable in it?”

“No, it’s fine. I just thought it might be too much?”

“It’s definitely not too much. But what matters is that you’re comfortable. I know you have that new pair of black pants and a blouse that’ll work for dinner if that’ll feel better to you, though.”

Rey gives herself another once over and nods firmly. “No. No, this works,” she says, the doorbell ringing as she finishes her sentence.

“Good, cause I believe that’s lover boy at the door,” Rose says, a grin that Rey can only describe as devious blossoming on her face. With a wink, she finishes, “I’ll wait in here until you two are gone.”

With one more thumbs up from Rose, Rey leaves to greet Poe. Any nervousness or anxiety fades away as she opens the door and is greeted by Poe’s bright smile and warm eyes.

Those warm eyes widen as he takes her in, and she can’t help but flush a little under his gaze, a coil of warmth spreading through her at his reaction.

“You look wonderful, Rey,” he says, after pausing to clear his throat. “Oh! Here, these are for you,” he continues, his cheeks reddening as he produces a bouquet of wildflowers from behind his back.

Her own eyes widen in delight at the bright, colorful bouquet and she takes them from him, immediately burying her nose in the flowers. She closes her eyes in pleasure for a long moment only to reopen them and see Poe’s pleased smile.

She can’t resist smiling back at him. “Thank you so much, I love them. Just let me place them in some water before we leave,” she says, gesturing for him to enter as she heads for the kitchen.

He follows her towards the kitchen, but she notices his eyes darting around, taking in her apartment. Rey thought she’d be more embarrassed by him seeing the inside of it, but he had already seen the outside of it when he came over to work on her car, so she figures he’d already guessed that it wasn’t exactly the most upscale of places.

“I knew you had a green thumb,” he says wonderingly, “but this is just amazing.”

Rey glances around quickly, taking in the large amount of plants she has stashed inside. “There’s even more on the balcony.” He seems genuinely impressed and she can’t help but be pleased at his reaction. It’s one of her favorite hobbies and she’s proud of her collection. She places the vase in the center of her small kitchen table and admires it for a long moment before looking over at him.

He’s staring at her and the flowers with a goofy expression on his face, and it’s so sweet that she can’t help but smile. “They are absolutely lovely,” she says as she walks over to him. “You ready to go?”

His smile widens and he offers her his elbow. “Your chariot awaits.”

\--

The restaurant is probably the nicest she’s ever been to, though she was pleasantly surprised when she scanned over the prices and they weren’t as astronomical as she feared.

The lighting is dim though, and a candle flickers away at the center of the table while soft music plays over the restaurant’s speakers. She can certainly see why Poe picked it. He wasn’t kidding about being a romantic.

The place wasn’t as stuffy as she feared either. Or, at least, she didn’t think it was. Probably part of that was that Poe had her laughing so hard that she could barely manage to grab a piece of bread out of the breadbasket.

“He’s just a very affectionate, energetic dog. I should have known better than to think that he would just calmly come trotting up to me for a couple of pats. No, he took off at a flying leap and sent me careening backwards into Snap and Karé, and then into the pool. And then he jumped in right after us, just happily dog paddling around as if it was the greatest thing in the world. He got everyone at the barbecue laughing and then a few more people ended up jumping in, too. He pretty much ended up turning the whole thing into a pool party.”

“He certainly sounds like a character,” she says.

“Beebee certainly is. You’ll have to meet him soon.”

“I look forward to it,” she replies, and they share a smile while the waiter delivers the salads.

The conversation never really lulls, but more than once the conversation trails off and they glance at each other from beneath lowered eyelashes and smile shyly at the other. Every time it happens it feels like butterflies take flight in the pit of her stomach, but instead of it making her anxious or wanting to flee, it just makes her feel warm and happy.

When he tells her that she has the sweetest laugh he’s ever heard while they wait for dessert, it makes her want to take flight as well, she’s just so absolutely delighted.

They decide to split a molten chocolate lava cake and she tries to remember her manners, but chocolate has always been her weak spot. She can’t quite hide her enjoyment and as the cake dwindles down to a single solitary remaining bite, she tries not to eye it too intensely.

He sets down his spoon and pushes the plate towards her. “It’s all yours.”

She smiles at him widely before scooping the last bite up, closing her eyes in pleasure as she eats it. It’s warm and gooey and so very rich, and when she finally opens her eyes, she sees him fiddling with his napkin. When she thanks him for offering her the last bite, his eyes lift up to hers and he smiles back at her, just as sweet as the cake had been.

When the check comes and he pulls out his wallet, she asks if they can split it. She briefly winces, momentarily remembering controlling individuals who’d acted almost offended at her taking responsibility for her own life and expenses. How they’d made her feel beholden to them, as if she was nothing except to the extent that he had power over her.

Instead, he just says “Sure,” and she slips her credit card in next to his.

She sighs, relieved, and sits back in her seat. The waiter comes back soon enough, and she takes Poe’s arm when he offers it to her.

“Do you want to go for a walk? Or I can take you back if you’re ready to head home,” he says, trailing off as he offers her the choice.

As they step out into the cool evening air, she moves a little closer into his side. “Let’s walk for a bit.”

The restaurant lines a lakefront and he leads them down the street. The streetlights reflect off the water, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the moon sitting almost full overhead.

It all feels soft and warm and pleasant between them, and they talk quietly until they come across a man on the street corner playing a guitar and singing before a small crowd and they stop to watch a while. Poe hums along, sometimes quietly singing a few words here and there, and she longs to hear more from him, but he goes silent as the song comes to an end and the crowd applauds.

They wander off again when she asks, “How did you come to be one of those wandering troubadours at a Renaissance Faire?”

Poe gazes at her thoughtfully. “My aunt’s – well, my mother’s sisters and their husbands – started taking me to the Faire when I was a kid. It was a way for them to remember my mom, I think. She loved the spectacle of it all and was a beautiful singer to boot. And while I was always fascinated by all the characters there, I really liked the music. And I had played in a lot of bands growing up, but nothing that was too serious, you know? But then a few years ago, I was . . . well, I guess I was feeling a little lost and someone told me they were looking for someone to work as a troubadour. I prepped a few pieces and auditioned, and now, here I am.”

“What kind of bands did you play in?”

Poe smiles at her, a little ruefully. “Ah, well, I kind of jumped around from genre to genre. Mostly rock, a bit of ska, one was even a little more folk. Just a little bit of everything really.”

“Doesn’t sound like it really could have prepared you for the role of a medieval troubadour,” Rey says, teasingly.

“I don’t think anything can really prepare you for it,” he grins. “But they sent me to train with another guy who’d been working as a troubadour in Faire’s down south. Taught me everything he knows.”

“Like how to woo all the ladies?”

“Like how to woo all the ladies,” he says with a wink. “But also how to tailor your performances to different crowds and to read people to figure out what might be best to perform for them. Not to mention learning a whole new selection of music.”

“That must have taken a lot of work.”

“Absolutely. But it was worth it. I couldn’t imagine myself not doing it know.”

“Did you always want to sing and perform? Did you try to make a career out of it?”

Poe shrugs. “Maybe. I do enjoy it, I mean. I absolutely love it. But I think I always wanted to help people, to serve them in any way I can. And that’s what I do during the week. And the music, I think it helps people in a different way. Art and music and play is all integral to the soul, you know? But performing, I think that’s something I want to keep for myself. I don’t really know how to explain it.”

“No, that makes sense,” Rey says, and she lets her hand slip out of his elbow and slide down his forearm until she takes his hand and squeezes it. “You just have one of the most beautiful voices I’ve heard, and I was just wondering,” she trails off with a shrug and a sheepish smile.

“You think I have a beautiful voice?” He asks. He stops walking and tugs on her hand gently until she’s facing him.

He’s looking at her with a warm smile, his eyes crinkled at the corners. She can feel her cheeks reddening. “Of course I do. It’s lovely,” she says as she takes his other hand in hers.

“So now that you know all about me, tell me Rey, what makes your soul sing?”

“What a romantic turn of phrase. No wonder they hired you,” she says teasingly. He just grins and shrugs as if in agreement, and she thinks for a long moment before speaking again. “I always wanted more. I’ve always been torn in a way. I grew up in a little town, not much to call my own, no family, few if any friends. I knew I wanted that though. And then I met Finn and Rose and they’ve been what I always hoped for, but still, I want more. I want adventure, I want to see the stars, I want everything I never had before. I thought aeronautical engineering would help with that, and I love the subject, I really do, but I feel like I’m stuck, too, and I don’t just mean in the library. I need less of the studying and more of the experiencing. I just want more.”

Poe gazes at her thoughtfully. “I believe you will. I believe you will have everything you could’ve ever dreamed of. You should see the stars, and if I could bring them to you, I would. But since I can’t, I’ll do whatever I can to get you there. We’ll figure it out.”

It’s almost a little overwhelming to have that much warmth and support directed her way, and she bites her lip, glancing down at the ground before lifting her eyes once more to meet his. He’s still gazing at her, his expression almost wondering, and he reaches up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

Everything feels warm and fluttery and so good, so she steps in a little closer to him, closing the space between the two. His hand, which had been lingering at her cheek, moves to cradle the back of her head and his eyes become a little more hooded.

In the end she couldn’t tell you who moved first, who initiated the kiss. She only remembers the warmth of his lips as they softly touch hers, the feel of his breath across her skin as he pulls back only to press his lips to hers once more.

Her hands glide up to his elbows and then to his shoulders, clasping them as she tries to pull him closer, admiring the solidness of him against her making her feel warm and safe and cared for.

When he pulls back, it’s only far enough to rest his forehead against hers. She makes no move to pull away, just lets the moment linger as she feels pieces she never knew were missing start to fall into place.

\--

Rose dances a jig around the kitchen while Finn groans and drops his head onto the table with a clank.

“Fresh flowers, fresh vegetables, life is good,” Rose practically sings as she digs through one of the boxes full of vegetables.

“What’s wrong with you,” Rey asks as she reaches over to tug her notebook from underneath Finn’s head, grumbling, “I need those notes.”

“Paige and Rose got tickets to the Beyoncé concert for the day after next, but I’ve got my exam the next morning and I’ve been sick and haven’t been able to study much, so,” and Finn groans again, once more knocking his head against the table.

“Aww, poor baby,” Rose coos, trotting over to the table to press a kiss against the back of his head. “Maybe you can ask Rey to keep you company. That is, if she isn’t too busy with Poe,” she says while winking at Rey.

Rey flushes and turns her attention back to her own work. Ever since their date at the restaurant almost two weeks ago, she knows she’s been a little . . . wrapped up in Poe.

It doesn’t help that Rose is constantly encouraging her to “Get it,” to which Rey just rolls her eyes and tries to ignore Rose (even though the constant refrain isn’t exactly helping with the images it puts into Rey’s head.)

They’re clearly in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, and they’ve been spending whatever time they can spare from school and work together, even if it’s just meals and watching Netflix (with some minor chilling – nothing more than a bit of making out with wandering – if still cautious – hands). He wants to take things slow and to be perfectly honest, she’s completely on board with that.

But Rose has a dirty mind, even if Rey refrains from sharing too many details about her and Poe’s relationship.

“If you want, you can help me fill out these human resources forms for my internship and finalize my portion of the group project,” Rey says, waggling her brows at Finn.

“Ugh, why couldn’t you pick a more interesting topic, instead of,” and he pauses to quickly scan over her notes, his eyes widening, “Okay, I honestly don’t know what half of those words mean.”

Rey laughs. “I can say the same about your area of expertise.” Finn was studying for his master’s degree in psychology. Half the time she felt like she needed a dictionary to keep up with him whenever he went on one of his tangents, so excited about whatever new topic he was learning and how he could utilize what he learned to help people. But he was one of the smartest people she knew, and she was so excited that he could do what he loved and was passionate about.

It didn’t mean she could understand what he was saying though. But she loved that he loved it, and he was the same way about her field of study.

Rey went back to preparing for her own final (it was the following afternoon, but she knew she had it down pat, she only really needed to finish up her portion of the group paper that evening and then she would be free) while Rose placed several of the fresh flowers Rey had brought back from working at the floral shop in the morning on the table. Moments later the gentle sound of chopping filled the air as Rose started dicing vegetables for their meal. It was comfortable with the soft background noise filling the small apartment, and Rey got into the groove of working on her research.

Only once was she interrupted from her work when she sneezed loudly. The power of the sneeze was a little shocking and both Finn and Rose turned to look at her.

Rose looked concerned. “I hope you’re not catching Finn’s cold.”

“It’s pretty much gone, though,” he says shaking his head, though he still looked concern. “I don’t think you could catch anything.”

Rey wipes at her nose with a tissue. “It’s probably nothing” she says confidently. “I was helping Baze all morning at the shop and now you placed a huge selection of flowers right in front of me. It’s probably just all the pollen.”

After a moment Rose went back to meal prep while Finn returned to his book. If after a few minutes Rey surreptitiously placed a hand to her forehead, well, they didn’t need to worry.

She felt fine, anyway. And she didn’t have a fever.

It was probably nothing, she told herself, as she returned to her notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through the story, and we still haven't even gotten to the duet, the whole reason I changed it from a two-shot fic to a multi-chapter story. But soon!
> 
> And, like usual, I underestimated just how much I write, so two more chapters have been added to the final count, lol.


	7. Chapter 7

She felt like a troll. The very idea of sunlight was repugnant to her and she rather felt like hiding away underneath a bridge somewhere no one could ever find her. But as there was no bridge nearby to suffice, she buried herself under a large pile of blankets instead.

A round of sneezes wracked her body and she reached a single hand out of her cocoon to grab a tissue from her pile of supplies next to the couch.

No, she corrected herself. She didn’t feel like a troll. She felt like a frog, mucousy and slimy and as if all her joints were out of proper alignment and everything just _ached_. . .

“Here, drink this.” Finn’s soft voice breaks through her muddled thoughts and she peeks out from between the blankets just long enough to see him place a steaming cup of tea on the table next to her. She reaches out and grabs it, bringing it into her fortress of blankets, letting the scent and steam of it warm her.

“Thanks,” she manages to croak out, muffled as it was by the blankets. “But you didn’t have to come here. I can take care of myself, you know.”

“I know. But nothing wrong with lending a hand now and then, or letting others lend you a hand,” he concludes gently.

She merely grunts in reply. They’ve had this conversation before, and while he’s right, it doesn’t come easily or naturally to her.

In any event, she’s just grateful that she managed to finish the last of her work for the semester before the cold came on in full force.

The morning after, though . . .

She felt like she had been hit by a truck. Several large, heavy trucks.

“Besides, I’m about to leave in a few anyway. Gotta get to the library to pick up some books for my summer classes.”

She can hear him moving about in the kitchen as she sips her tea, letting the hot liquid soothe her ravaged throat.

Then she hears a knock on the door followed by Finn’s footsteps heading in its direction.

“Hi Finn,” she hears, and she starts to groan before it was interrupted by a coughing fit.

As she gets her body back under control, she hears a shuffling nearby and the distinctive crinkle of a plastic bag followed by the sound of someone kneeling down next to her.

“Hey sweetheart,” comes the warm, rich sound of Poe’s voice, his tone low and soothing. “How are you feeling?”

“Go away,” she manages to croak out. “Don’t wanna get you sick.” She knows she sounds weak and petulant, but she feels so bad she doesn’t much care.

“She’s such a pleasant ray of sunshine when she’s sick,” Finn says teasingly.

Rey grumbles, “He’s one to talk,” and hears Poe laugh lightly in response.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you dancing and singing with Rose again soon enough,” Finn says as he gathers his things together.

“Oh yeah?” Poe asks, curious.

“Oh yeah. You’d think they were the next Destiny’s Child the way they were going about before Rose and Paige went to the Beyoncé concert. They certainly can sing with the best of them, but Rose . . . well, let’s just say Rose has some interesting dance moves. We might have to work on that before their world tour.”

Rey laughs, or at least she starts to before she starts coughing again. Despite their best attempts to learn the choreography, Rose’s idea of dancing is more uncontrolled flailing. Lots of bouncing, little synchronicity.

“You didn’t tell me you could sing, sunshine,” Poe says.

She ignores the question in his voice and instead focuses on the term of endearment. “Sunshine?”

“Yeah, well, Finn said ray of sunshine and then I just thought, well, you know. But if you don’t like it . . .”

“No, I like it. It’s nice.” She finally pulls the covers down to just beneath her chin, squinting against the bright light that fills her eyes after spending so long in the dark.

It’s nice to see his face at least, even if the sunlight filtering in from the windows is exacerbating her headache.

“Well, hey there,” he says softly when she comes into view. He reaches out and brushes some hair back from her face.

“Alright, I’m headed out,” Finn says, heading for the door. “Make sure she stays on the couch and rests!”

Rey manages to flip him off even with how weak she feels, even as Poe promises to do so.

“I brought you some stuff,” he says, digging into the bag. He pulls out a carton of soup from the Chinese place down her street, a box of crackers, and some more medicine. Finn must have texted him with a list of what they needed. “If you want some soup, I can grab a spoon. Or I can put it in the fridge for later.”

She ignores the question, still fearful about him catching her cold. “Honestly Poe, you don’t have to stay. I don’t want to get you sick.”

“Don’t worry about that. Just focus on feeling better.”

“I feel like a troll, though,” she says, thinking back on her mental comparison from earlier. “I must look like one, too.”

“Nonsense,” he says with a soft smile. “You look beautiful.”

The way he says it, so sincerely, she almost believes it. Then her eyes water again and she sneezes, and while she might not feel beautiful, she does feel . . . well, cared for (even if she can’t quite bring herself to consider another word, the L-word, quite yet) as he hands her more tissues.

In the end, he helps her sit up and she slurps at the soup while they watch movies. She’s not the most dignified at the moment, and she doesn’t particularly care much about it anyway, but Poe just sits with her, her sock-and-blanket encased feet resting in his lap while he rubs a soothing hand along them.

She hates being sick, hates feeling weak and even the least bit unable to take care of herself. But Poe never lets her feel like a burden, just sits there quietly with her while she eats and finally dozes off during the movie.

\--

The first thing she does when she feels better is to take Poe with her to a local ice cream shop where she proceeds to down the largest chocolate milkshake they have available.

“If I had known you wanted a milkshake when you were sick, I could’ve brought one to you, you know. Might’ve felt nice for your throat,” Poe says, equal parts amused at how much she’s enjoying the shake and alarmed at how quickly she’s downing it.

“While the thought is certainly appreciated, I never would’ve been able to taste it when I was all stuffed up,” she replies.

Poe just grins at her as she enthusiastically returns to her shake before continuing to work on his own ice cream cone.

The other thing she had done when she felt better was to needle Poe until he promised to take her to the next open mic night he would be performing at. So, the evening after their ice cream date, they get in his car to head back across town.

She knew he sometimes performed at local coffee shops and bars, sometimes at their open mic nights and sometimes just by himself. He usually had a small crowd of dedicated fans follow him around those gigs, both those who knew him from the local music circuit and those from the Renaissance Faire who clamored for some of their favorite songs they couldn’t hear elsewhere.

Now Rey was eager to join the group.

“You won’t forget me when all your adoring fans are clamoring for you, will you?”

Poe pretends to ponder that thought. “Hmm. Guess it depends?”

Rey gasps in mock indignation. “Depends on what?”

“You know those videos of Beatles fans where they’re just going wild, screaming and fainting and all that?”

Rey raises an eyebrow. “Yeah . . .”

“Well, if you could do that,” Poe says, grinning.

She sighs and roll her eyes teasingly. “I might give you one of those golf claps if you’re really lucky.”

“Ooh, crossing my fingers,” he begins before his eyes widen in glee. “Oh! This is my jam!”

Rey listens closely to the opening notes of the song playing on the radio. “ _Sweet Caroline_ is your jam?”

Poe doesn’t respond, just pulls the car to a stop at a stop sign and grins at her as he begins crooning the opening lines. She giggles even as she gestures for him to place his eyes forward again.

Still, Poe sings along with the radio, “Where it began, I can't begin to knowing/But then I know it's growing strong/Was in the spring/Then spring became the summer/Who'd have believed you'd come along.”

His hand reaches out to grab hers, his thumb keeping time to the beat of the music against the back of her hand.

She’s smiling widely, knows she is but can’t help herself. There are times where she thinks Poe might be a little too aware of his charm, where he almost puts on a front as he works to persuade someone at his job or tries to cheer someone up, an acquaintance or stranger maybe, or to make them smile. But there are other times, like when he’s with her or Beebee or some of his closest friends, and that veneer will fade into something a little more warm and self-effacing.  She adores Poe when he’s like this, where he’s shrugged off the seriousness of his day job and is just being his sweet, goofy self.

He hits the first chorus and encourages her to join him. She just shakes her head with a smile despite his ensuing pout.

He sighs and returns to the song, singing, “And when I hurt/ Hurting runs off my shoulders/How can I hurt when I'm holding you.”

He turns his pleading eyes back to her for a brief moment, and he’s so into the music, looks so happy and carefree, that she decides to just go for it.

“Reaching out, touching me, touching you/Sweet Caroline/Good times never seemed so good,” and she can’t resist mimicking the sounds of the beat in the short break in the words of the song, and it’s been so long since she sang with anyone other than Rose and Finn outside the privacy of their apartments, that she can’t help but close her eyes and just _sing_.

It takes her a moment to realize she doesn’t hear Poe’s voice anymore, that his rich tone is no longer filling the air, and her eyes pop back open to see him staring at her, his eyes wide and mouth agape, as they sit at a stoplight.

“What?” She asks sheepishly, worriedly glancing up at the stoplight, which was still red, before looking back at Poe. “What is it?”

He looks – well, the only way she could think to describe his expression was flabbergasted. He glances around wildly as he searches for words, the positively silver-tongued Poe Dameron now practically speechless. “That was . . . that was . . . wow.”

“Poe,” she shakes her head even as she can feel a flush creep up her neck.

“I’m not kidding, that was – wow. How come you’ve been hiding that voice from me?”

She rolls her eyes. “I haven’t been hiding that voice from you. Besides, it’s nothing. It was just singing along to a song in the car, you could barely even hear my voice.”

“That was not nothing. You have the most amazing–”

And whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by a horn blaring from the car behind them. Startled, Poe glances up at the stoplight to see it had turned green and proceeds forward.

Rey was momentarily relieved as he turned his attention away from her and towards the road once more. Singing was something she had always done for herself for fun, when she was alone and no one could hear her, or with Finn and Rose when it was just the three of them. Poe’s praise was almost a little overwhelming.

Luckily, they arrived at the coffee shop before he could bring it up again, and before she knew it they were sitting inside at a small table, Poe’s guitar resting at his feet, as the rest of the performers had their turn at the microphone.

Every once in a while, she would see him looking at her, his expression almost wonderous, as if he had learned a secret about her and was equal parts astonished and delighted. But he doesn’t mention it again that night and she’s grateful, as she’s still feeling more than a little vulnerable from singing in front of him.

When his name is announced however, she can’t help but cheer wildly, even sticking her fingers between her lips in a loud wolf whistle. He just pauses where he’s walking up on to the stage and shakes his head with a little grin as the crowd laughs and cheers at the display.

Moments later he’s singing and she lets herself escape into the music.

\--

A few weeks later, on a bright and sunny summer afternoon, she’s sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop and her trusty notebook, its pages almost completely filled with ideas for work and research, in front of her.

She looks forlornly out the window from time to time, a sigh escaping her lips, before she turns her face back to her work.

It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy her work. But ever since she started, there’s been so much to read, so much to learn, so much to _do_ that she’s just immersed herself in it completely. And every once in a while the beautiful weather intrudes on her little self-imposed bubble, and she’s envious of those who’ve chosen easier careers.

But then she remembers she loves her work, loves everything about it, and the cycle continues again.

She’s interrupted from her reverie by a knock on the door. She’s grown used to that particular rhythmic set of taps and gets up to let Poe in, thinking that she should just go ahead and give him a key.

It’s only when she opens the door and Poe greets her, leaning in for a kiss, that she realizes what she had just thought.

“You alright?” Poe asks, looking at her quizzically.

She realizes that she had just paused in the middle of the kiss and gives herself a little mental shake to recollect herself. “I’m fine,” she says, smiling at him. “Just lost in thought.”

He seems satisfied by her answer and walks to her kitchen with the box of pizza. She follows a moment later, her own puzzlement drifting into something a little calmer.

She realizes she really wants him to have a key.

He nudges aside her pile of mail as he places the box on the counter. “Looks like you’ve been saving that up for a while,” he says, nodding towards the large stack.

She shrugs. “It’s mostly junk. I had forgotten about it for a few days with work and all.”

He grabs two plates from her cabinet and asks, “How is work going by the way?”

She perks up at the question as he comes over with the plates, his mouth quirking in amusement as he sees her notebook filled with her undoubtedly messy handwriting. It was so messy that she sometimes wonders how anyone – including herself – could read it.

She pushes her laptop and notebook to the side as he sets down a plate filled with pizza in front of her.  “It’s great, actually. Got some big news today,” she says as she bites into a slice, her eyes briefly closing in bliss. She barely manages to swallow before continuing. “You remember that project I had put together for Skywalker’s class? Well, I had been emailing with him about it, and he encouraged me to pitch it to my work supervisor and they accepted! I’m going to spend the rest of the summer working on it, and depending on its progress, if it goes well, they might even pitch it to NASA.” She’s practically dancing in her seat by the end of her explanation she’s so excited.

She had worked endless days and nights to come up with the idea and put the project together for Professor Skywalker’s class. Her work paid off in the end, as her semester ended with the highest grade in the class and a deeper mentor/mentee relationship with one of the most impressive professors she’s ever had. She can’t even begin to fathom just how much she’s learned from him.

Then there was the fact that he called her one of the brightest students he’s ever taught, which filled her with pride. With all the belief he’s placed in her, she was determined not to let him down.

Poe’s eyes alight, and he sits up a little straighter as a wide smile blossoms on his face. “Hey now! Way to go, sunshine, that’s excellent news! That deserves a toast,” he says happily, holding out his pizza slice towards her.

She takes her own slice and taps it against his and laughs, feeling warmth spread deep in her chest at his enthusiasm for her and her accomplishment.

“My girlfriend’s so smart,” he says proudly, winking at her as she rolls her eyes. She can’t tamp down her grin, though.

“It’s gonna mean a lot of long days though. I’m going to have to cut back on my hours at Baze’s shop and I don’t know how much free time I’ll have left over, even on the weekends, you know, for us” she says, biting her lip as she looks up at him.

“We’ll figure it out,” Poe says easily. “I’ll bring you coffee and pizza and some vegetables to round out that healthy diet. And I’ll bring Beebee along for pet therapy sessions. So, if you’re worrying about us right now, let me just say, don’t. This is important work and a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s okay to concentrate on that. I’ll still be here.”

She doesn’t really know what to say to that, feeling both pleased and a little overwhelmed by his words. She smiles at him and he returns it, and they happily sit eating their dinner, and if she’s caught taking more than a few long, lingering glances at him during it, well, you couldn’t really blame her, could you.

After several slices of pizza, she pushes her plate away and leans back with a sigh. She’s pleasantly full and more than a little eager to spend some time cuddling with Poe on the couch tonight.

She wouldn’t complain if it turned into a little more than that, either. She and Poe haven’t really escalated past more than some heavy petting yet, both more than a little content to wait, but she’s rapidly approaching the point where she wants more.

He heads to the sink to start washing the dishes and she follows him and grabs a towel. She can’t resist flicking a few droplets of water from the faucet at him, laughing when he splutters in mock indignation. A drop lands on the side of his lips and she leans in, aiming for the droplet but letting him catch her mouth in a kiss instead.

He quickly turns it into a little something more, his full lips sliding pleasantly against hers, his warm tongue running along her bottom lip before slipping into her mouth, and she’s lost in the sensations when she feels a small splash of water along her arm.

She pulls back with a gasp of surprise. “Hey now! I’m supposed to be drying the dishes, you can’t be splashing me.”

Poe grins. “All’s fair in love and war.”

Just as they finish the dishes and she’s putting the last glass in the rack to dry, a letter peeking out of her stack of mail catches her eye. She reaches in and digs the envelope out, grimacing when she sees the return address.

“What is it?” Poe asks concerned.

“It’s from the urgent care place I went to when I was sick and they were testing me for strep and all that. It’s probably a bill.” She sighs heavily, already imagining the cost and her less than full bank account.

She briefly considers ignoring it for now, but she’s never been one to shy away from bad news and quickly tears it open. Her eyes widen and she groans. “I have insurance. How can it possibly be that much?”

Poe quirks an eyebrow at her and she hands it over, his own eyes widening as he examines the letter. “That’s – a lot. How can they even charge that much?”

Rey leans against the counter. “I don’t know. I’m going to call them tomorrow, maybe they’re wrong.” She sighs and tilts her head up to the ceiling, contemplating her options. “I hope they’re wrong. I don’t know how I’m going to afford this otherwise.”

“Is the internship giving you a stipend?”

“A little. But not enough.” And it goes without saying that she doesn’t have much savings. She didn’t exactly grow up rich and she’s had to work for everything she has but it hasn’t exactly gotten her much. “I’m going to have to figure out a way to get some extra hours in at Baze’s shop.”

Poe shakes his head. “You were already saying earlier that you were going to have to cut back your hours to accommodate the internship. And the internship is important – this is your career we’re talking about.”

“I know,” she says, shaking her head in frustration. “But what else am I supposed to do?”

Poe bites his lip. “I can loan you some money,” he begins but she shakes her head harder this time.

“I don’t want your charity.”

“You could pay me back if you want,” he starts again, but her scowl causes him to sigh in defeat. “Honestly, I figured you would say that.” She shrugs and gives him a rueful grin, and he continues hesitantly. “But I have another idea, if you want to hear it.”

Poe seems equal parts unsure and anxious, but maybe a little hopeful, too. She’s intrigued, even if she has no idea whether she’ll like the idea or not.

“Well, then. Let’s hear it.”


	8. Chapter 8

Rey runs her hands across her black pants and light blue blouse, smoothing out the wrinkles from her clothing. She eyes herself closely in the mirror, looking over the braids Rose had carefully woven into her hair and the light make up she had insisted on applying. With a final once-over she sticks her tongue out at herself in the mirror and leaves the bathroom to join Poe again.

He’s waiting at the side of the small bar near the stage and he squeezes her elbow gently when she stands next to him. “You okay?” He asks, a concerned look on his sweet face.

“Yeah, I am,” she says, waving at Finn and Rose who are sitting at a small table near the front.

He looks at her closely. “You sure? It’s not too late to back out, you know.”

“I’m fine, Poe,” she says with far more certainty than she feels. She leans in quickly to press a firm kiss to his cheek. That seems to settle him down, and his hand slips down from her elbow to take her hand in his.

He might seem more settled, but she still feels more than a little jittery.

If she was being honest with herself, she’s been feeling that way since they had first discussed the possibility.

\--

_“But I have another idea, if you want to hear it.”_

_She can never resist something like that, the temptation to know always a little too great to resist. “Well, then. Let’s hear it.”_

_“’I’m friends with the owner of Dex’s Dive,” he begins, referring to one of the most popular bars and nightclubs in the city, which regularly features local musicians. “There’s a base rate for all performances, and then we keep whatever tips we make. I haven’t played there in a long while, and he’s been asking me to come back. I’ve got some regulars, and it usually brings in a decent amount of money, but a lot of the duos and group acts bring in a bit more than that,” he continues, his voice starting to rise slightly, though whether it’s due to excitement at his idea or nervousness, she doesn’t know. “Just tossing this out there, but if you want to perform with me, you can have the money. You have a fantastic voice and I know you’ll be great. They’ll love you.”_

_She stands there a long moment, her mouth agape. Of all things . . . well, she certainly wasn’t expecting that._

_She struggles for something to say, before finally settling on, “I wouldn’t want all the money. You’ll be performing, too. We should split it.”_

_Poe’s obviously struggling to contain his smile, biting his lip even as the corners start turning up. “Does that mean -?”_

_“I don’t know yet,” she says quickly. “I need time to think about it,” though she thinks she already knows her answer. Her gut is telling her yes, and she trusts her instincts._

_Poe manages to stop his smile from spreading but there’s a light shining in his eyes, an eagerness and a hope that won’t be tamped down. She’s a little thrilled at the idea that just the idea of them singing together has put that there._

_“Take as much time as you need, sunshine,” he says, before leaning in to kiss her sweetly._

_\--_

That was almost three weeks ago. By the end of that weekend when he first asked her, she had decided to swallow all the nerves and the anxiety and straight-up _fear_ that roiled through her and agree to it.

After all, if she was being honest with herself, there was something exciting about it. Something thrilling about the new experience, about standing up before a crowd and showing them what she could do.

She just wasn’t sure about one part of it. Namely the part where she stood up before a crowd and showed them what she could do. She didn’t like showing others her vulnerabilities, had learned long ago that it was a liability, and performing before a crowd, well –

Well, with Poe and Finn and Rose, she was slowly learning that it was sometimes okay to show people your vulnerabilities. That it was okay to trust people, to let them in.

“They’re about to announce me. You still want to sit with Finn and Rose for the first song and then come up after?”

She nods, relieved, that Poe will be taking the brunt of the spotlight, at least at first. She’s always found Poe’s voice soothing (at least the part of her that doesn’t find it exhilarating) and listening to him was sure to calm her down a little before she joined him up there.

He quickly brings her hand to his lips to press a kiss to the back of it, before saying, “See you soon, sweetheart,” and with a wink he’s gone, heading to the edge of the stage as the owner begins to announce his performance.

She makes her way to Finn’s and Rose’s table, returning their smiles as she joins them to listen to Poe banter with the crowd before he begins.

He seems to be a favorite of many in the crowd and as he begins to play, the crowd cheers loudly.

Poe looks straight at her as he begins singing, “This is the first day of my life/Swear I was born right in the doorway/I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed/They're spreading blankets on the beach.” Despite overhearing him practicing this song these last few weeks, the directness of his gaze as he sings causes a flush to creep up her cheeks.

He must see it, since he gives her another wink before focusing on the rest of the crowd, clearly in full performer mode now.

At the end, the crowd applauds loudly once more, and he bows his head in thanks, before speaking into the microphone. “I’ve performed here often enough that I’m sure you all are getting pretty sick of my face,” he says, grinning as the crowd responds with sounds of protest. “That’s why I have a surprise for all of you tonight. She has one of the most phenomenal voices I’ve ever heard, she’s just super talented, and I’m so excited that she agreed to join me up here tonight,” he continues, and Rey takes a deep breath in. “Everyone, please join me in welcoming Rey Smith to the stage.”

The crowd cheers as Poe says her name (and despite her thinking Rose and Finn were loud before when cheering on Poe, it’s nothing compared to now) and the support gives her enough confidence to step up on stage. To be honest, there is a part of her that wants to hide, to run out of the place without even a farewell. But instead she strides up to the microphone, chin up, and looks out into the crowd, trying to exude more confidence than she feels.

She glances towards Poe, giving him a small smile as she stands at the microphone. He’s sitting on a stool, guitar in hand, and he grins back at her. With a final nod from him, she faces forward once more, preparing herself to sing one of her favorite songs in the world.

Instead, she hears the opening chords of Miley Cyrus’s _Wrecking Ball_ , and her mouth drops open in shock.

When she looks at Poe, he’s playing innocent. “Oops, wrong song, sorry about that,” he says into his microphone, before grinning at her and starting to play the opening notes of Fleetwood Mac’s _Dreams_.

That brief moment took her out of her head long enough to let her finally relax, and the first lines come to her as naturally as they had when she had been practicing with Poe these last few weeks.

The first time she had mentioned to Poe that her favorite album of all time was Fleetwood Mac’s _Rumours_ and how proud she was when she managed to save enough to buy that CD as a kid, he smiled sweetly at her before starting to strum one of their songs.

Apparently, Poe’s musical taste was quite like her own. They both gravitated to the oldies.

When the last note trails off, the crowd bursts into applause. Rey can’t quite look at them and instead keeps her eyes on the floor for a long moment, even if she can’t quite resist the smile that pulls at her lips from the enthusiastic reaction to their song.

She finally does look up when she hears a loud, shrill whistle, and she sees Rose standing up, two fingers between her lips. Finn is next to her hooting, and she feels her face grow pleasantly warm.

She glances over her shoulder at Poe and he looks happy and proud, and he mouths some words which she thinks says, “Told you.”

She rolls her eyes and grins, but honestly, she’s feeling pretty proud of herself, too.

A moment later, Poe starts strumming the guitar again and the crowd quiets down to listen to their next song, a tune that Poe had crafted earlier that year. They work through a catalogue of original tunes and covers, and it honestly feels better than it ever had in any of their practice sessions.

As they approach the end of their set, she feels like she’s walking on cloud nine, caught up in the euphoria of her and Poe singing so well together, feeling a synchronicity between them that stemmed from something more than just practice, something deeper. The crowd has been so unbelievably supportive, and Finn and Rose remain in the front row where she can easily see them, and they look so incredibly proud that she almost wants to cry.

Poe starts the last number, and of all the songs they’ve sung together, it’s her favorite.

She begins, singing, “Stars shining bright above you/Night breezes seem to whisper I love you/Birds singing in the sycamore tree/Dream a little dream of me.”

After another verse, Poe sings, “Stars fading but I linger on, dear/Still craving your kiss/I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear/Just saying this.”

She can’t help it, her eyes are pulled away from the crowd, and everything disappears except for her and Poe and the song’s sweet words filling the air between them. She just lets the music carry her away and it is sheer bliss.

It’s almost a surprise when the cheers and applause fill the air when the song ends, as she’s suddenly reminded that they are not alone.

Finn and Rose immediately come to the stage and pull Rey into a hug, filling her ear with how fantastic she was, how proud they were of her. Rey almost wants to cry at how happy their support makes her but instead just hugs them back harder.

Even after Finn and Rose gave them both additional hugs and told them goodnight, she and Poe stick around for a while longer, talking to some of the audience members who came up to them afterwards. Dex, the bar’s owner, even comes over and wraps Poe up in a bear hug while needling him about why he’s kept the other half of the duo hidden from them.

Dex then makes them a standing offer to come play with an increased pay rate. Poe tells him that they’d consider it, and she’s grateful that no promises were made. While the increased pay rate is certainly attractive, and the tip jar, which even Poe looked at with a bit of shock afterwards, made her eyes widen in pleasant surprise, she’s not certain she could do this all that often. Between her day job and the emotional rollercoaster she’s been on since Poe proposed the idea, she’ll need to think about it.

Once the crowd around them dissipates, Poe takes her hand and together they walk outside. The air is warm and humid, and she can hear the mosquitos and other night insects buzzing around. She still feels almost a little giddy and she can’t help but swing their enjoined hands back and forth, humming a few bars of one of their songs.

Poe smiles at her and briefly joins in as he presses his key fob to unlock his car.

She blames it on the night air, the way he seems to practically glow under the light of the streetlamp, the way it reflects off his hair, just a little curlier and more wild than usual. Between the tenor of his voice and the way he smiles at her, to how everything just seemed to fit perfectly between the two of them that evening, she just can’t resist.

As he moves to open her door, she moves to push him against the car and presses herself to him. He grunts at the initial shock, but he responds immediately, wrapping an arm around her waist while the other goes to her hair. She grabs onto his shoulders, the better to pull him to her, and she kisses him with all the heat and passion that currently floods through her bloodstream.

She runs her tongue along his bottom lip and he groans as he lets her in. His hand cups her jaw, tilting her head just a fraction and this time it’s her turn to moan and everything just feels so good, so right that she doesn’t want it to end.

He seems to be in the same frame of mind as her and a hand falls to her hip, tugging her even closer, pressing into her perfectly, and she’s just about to moan again, warmth and pleasure washing over her, when a clatter sounds from behind them.

They jump away from each other, heads turning towards the source of the noise. It’s just a feral cat that’s knocked over some stray beer bottles and an ashtray, but Rey feels heat spring to her cheeks at the realization of how heated their kiss had grown in public.

She turns to Poe and he seems to be thinking along the same lines as her, as he runs a hand along the stubble on his jaw, his cheeks reddened.

But then there’s also the sheer light shining from his eyes, the way he looks at her, and how it just makes her feel safe, treasured, and so absolutely loved. They may have never said the words to each other, not yet, but she knows it’s there between them, she knows it has been there for longer than she’s let herself admit. It’s frightened her to an extent, the depth of feelings she feels for him, and she hasn’t really let herself acknowledge them, not with her history. Nor did she want to overwhelm him either, not after he told her his own story.

But it’s there now, and she feels it so strongly that she can’t ignore it.

“I love you, Poe,” she says, eyes wide and her heart speeding in her chest.

A moment passes – she’s not sure how long, everything feels stretched out and condensed at the same time – and he doesn’t say anything, just lets his eyes roam over her face. She’s terrified that she’s said the wrong thing, that maybe she said it too soon (no matter that they’ve been dating for months now), or maybe, even worse, he doesn’t feel the same way.

“I love you, too,” he says, voice soft but sure, “so very much,” and her heart is still thumping so wildly that she has to ask him to repeat it, that she doesn’t trust herself to have heard him accurately.

His hands come up to cradle her face and his eyes shine so brightly that she knows she heard him right, even as he smiles so widely that it makes her jaw hurt in sympathy, and he repeats, “I love you, Rey.”

She’s so happy that she can’t resist laughing, everything good inside her begging to come forth, and she throws her arms around his neck to pull him to her and kiss him. There’s no finesse to it, just the two of them giddy and happy and laughing. Even when they pull away, foreheads still pressed together, they’re still smiling, and he hums happily as he presses a final, quick kiss to her laughing mouth.

“Let’s get you home, sunshine,” he says, opening her door and helping her in. Before he can let her hand go and close the door, she pulls him to her once more, and he goes easily, and this time he’s the one to pull away from the kiss with a laugh.

\--

Turns out, she didn’t end up at home. At least, not hers.

After their gig at the bar, Poe needed to get home to take care of Beebee. She stretches her arm across the seat, runs the back of her knuckles down his arm and watches as he shivers, and asks to go to his.

It’s not the first time she’s stayed over at his, nor him staying with her, but it is the first time she asked so directly. Usually their evenings together go late, both of them reluctant to leave the other and by the time one of them even thinks about calling an end to the evening, they’re too drowsy to drive home and it ends with them cuddled together in bed.

Only on one occasion did one of them go to the other with the express purpose of staying the night, and that was when Rey had texted Poe late one evening when she had seen police lights in her apartment complex. It wasn’t particularly unusual, but Poe was alarmed enough to come over and spend the evening with her.

To be honest, she was glad to have his reassuring presence around, too. Only later did she find out it was a burglary, happening when the resident was away, but she didn’t know that then. Although it wasn’t the first time she had seen a police presence where she lived, it was nice to know there was someone else out there who had her back, too.

She briefly imagines that tonight might be the night to change things, where the night wouldn’t end with only an intense make-out session and some heavy petting on the couch, followed by them falling sleepily into bed curled around each other. She wanted to wait. She’s not a virgin, although her experience is limited, but that’s not what worries her exactly. She’s comfortable around him, trusts him completely at this point, but physical affection, sexual or otherwise, is still something she struggles with sometimes.

It also helps that he wants to take things slow, too.

When they get to his place, Beebee runs to the door to greet Poe as fast as his little legs could carry him. However, as he sees his other favorite person walk in behind Poe, he quickly turns and rolls on his back, tongue lolling out as he grins up at Rey for a belly rub.

“Sometimes I think he likes you more than me,” Poe grumbles teasingly.

Rey just grins and shrugs, joining Beebee on the floor while Poe goes to put away his guitar. Once Poe gets the dog leash though, Beebee’s attention is diverted and he quickly trots back to Poe, wiggling so intensely that it takes Poe a few tries before he can clip the leash to the collar.

The adrenaline from the gig is almost gone, has been slowly dissipating during the car ride home and she sticks around Poe’s apartment while he walks Beebee. She tiredly makes her way to the bedroom, slipping off her shoes and rummaging around in his clothes until she finds one of his baggiest shirts and heads into the bathroom to wash up and change clothes. Within moments, she falls into his bed, thumping a pillow into shape and burying her head in it, inhaling deeply when she recognizes Poe’s scent.

It’s a testament to how safe she feels that she doesn’t even open her eyes when she hears footsteps shuffle quietly into the room, the soft thump of a drawer opening and closing, soon followed by the sound of the bathroom faucet.

Moments later and the other side of the bed dips down as Poe gets into bed next to her, laying on his back.

She turns over until she’s curled up into his side, throwing a leg over his and resting her arm around his middle. For his part, his arm comes up to cradle her close to him, and she can’t help but sigh in contentment.

“I thought you were asleep,” he says quietly. “Didn’t want to wake you.”

She makes a vague, non-committal sound at first. “Almost there.”

“I can tell,” Poe replies, amused.

“I can’t believe how quickly I got sleepy once we got back,” she murmurs, her hand gently fisting his shirt before releasing and resting once more on his stomach.

“It happens – the rush goes away pretty quickly once the show is over,” he says, and she hums in agreement, like it wasn’t the first time she had ever experienced it. “Plus, it’s late.”

She can feel his upper body adjust slightly and she feels him kiss the top of her head a moment later. With his lips still pressed to her hair, he says, “Go to sleep, sweetheart,” and after a brief pause, “I love you.”

She whispers it back to him, too tired to even open her eyes and lift them to his when she says it, but she can’t help but imagine his face anyway. His hand pets through her hair, a soft, soothing motion, and she sleepily tries to mimic the gentle motion, her hand pushing just underneath his shirt until it meets the soft skin of his belly. Her head rises gently as he takes a deep breath in, her hand clumsily petting his skin as she fights off sleep.

She’s right on the cusp of falling asleep, but after the moment in the parking lot, it’s just – well, she had plans. Ideas to take their relationship further, because she knows she wants it with him now, wants everything with him, and she wanted to see if he was on board.

Somewhere in the midst of dreaming what could be, of wondering what the future holds, her body surrenders to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The main reason I extended this fic from a two-shot to a multi-chapter story was that I couldn't get the idea of them singing together out of my head, and while they technically sang together a little last chapter, I'm excited that we've finally come to the part where they have a proper duet!
> 
> The songs Poe and Rey play at their gig are:
> 
> The first song (the Poe solo) - "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes  
> The first song they sing together on stage - "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac  
> The last song - "Dream a Little Dream of Me" by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald (multiple artists have covered this song, but this version is my favorite.)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there's sex at the end of this chapter, but you won't really miss any important plot points if you want to skip it. 
> 
> If you don't want to read it, you'll probably want to stop reading with the paragraph that ends "but this time she’s armed with the knowledge that they won’t stop, that she’ll get to have everything with him, that she’ll get to feel everything with him." After that sentence, things turn more explicit.

She wakes to daylight streaming in through the window, visible even behind her closed eyelids, and to a warm tongue licking her face.

She opens her eyes to see she’s face to face with Beebee, his warm chocolate eyes and muzzle mere inches from her own nose. Beebee gleefully notes her now open eyes, and with a happy huff, starts to lick her face once more.

She can’t stop the high-pitched giggle that escapes her lips, but she does manage to stop him from licking her face further by moving him from where he’s been laying on her arm (and by the pins and needles that appear once he’s finally off her arm, he’s been there awhile).

She reaches out and pats the bed next to her. Except for the space Beebee had just been occupying, the rest of the bed is cold. And since the dog isn’t doing his early morning dance to alert his people that he needs to go outside, she assumes that Poe’s been up long enough to take him for a walk.

She listens and she can just make out the clatter of kitchen utensils, and, if she strains her ears enough, Poe’s warm voice singing quietly along with the radio.

With a smile, she pulls herself out of her little cocoon and shuffles to the kitchen.

Poe notices her as she walks in, and his face brightens as he says, “Right on time! Breakfast is just about to be served, m’lady.”

Beebee trots in behind her, drawn to the smell of eggs and bacon. She walks to the stove and wraps her arms around Poe’s torso just as he slides the last of the pancakes onto a plate. He tips his head back for a kiss, which she gladly provides.

Within moments their plates are filled and they’re sitting next to each other, close enough that their thighs press together, at Poe’s little dining room table. She pours a hefty portion of syrup on her pancakes, laughing at Poe’s look of astonishment (she rolls her eyes a little, as if he shouldn’t already have been used to her intense sweet tooth by now).

Then again, once she presses her lips, slightly sticky from the syrup, to his, he moans as he cradles the back of her head to keep her close. She can’t help but enjoy his newfound appreciation for her sweet tooth as he sucks her bottom lip with a final, pleased murmur. From then on, neither one could eat more than a few bites of food without the other going in for a kiss.

It’s a pleasant morning for all, including Beebee, who gets a few pieces of bacon and eggs to enjoy with his morning kibble.

Rey was relaxed, absolutely content, when Poe suddenly pushes back from the table and heads towards his little desk in the corner of the room. She follows his movements with a curious eye as he pulls out a brightly wrapped package from a drawer and returns to the table, a wide smile on his face as he holds it out to her.

“For you,” he says, amused, when she doesn’t move to take it but instead just stares at it, puzzled.

“What for? It’s not my birthday.” That isn’t for another week. Poe knows that. She thinks he’s even more excited for the day than she is.

“I know that,” he says, and urges her to take the gift once more.

Suddenly, a horrible thought dawns on her. “Is it an anniversary? Did I miss an anniversary?” She’s not the best at remembering the dates of things, nor is she even certain what day it is now (it’s a Sunday, that she knows, but the actual date eludes her). Plus, she’s never been certain exactly how often people celebrate anniversaries anyway. She doesn’t quite understand those couples who seem to have anniversaries to celebrate every few weeks.

Poe huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. “No, it’s not an anniversary.”

“Then why?”

“The reason why was because I wanted to get this for you,” he says, amused.

A long moment passes as she stares at him and the gift he holds, before she smiles brightly and reaches out to take the gift, giddily tearing into the wrapping paper. He sits down next to her, smiling as he watches her pull out a bright orange moleskin notebook.

She laughs in delight as she runs her hand over the cover. “No way! My other notebook was just about done and I needed something new for work.” She leans in, pressing several quick kisses to Poe’s mouth. “I love it so much, thank you!”

She flips through the empty pages, already excited to use it. She carries a notebook with her wherever she goes, to take notes in or scrawl down project ideas for work. She can’t wait to break this one in.

“The color, it’s not too much?” Poe asks, gesturing to the cover. “I’ve still got the receipt. I can exchange it for another color if you’d like.”

“You will do no such thing, Poe Dameron,” she says adamantly, clutching the notebook to her chest. “It reminds me of you, and I love it.”

And the bright orange certainly does remind her of him. The color is one he clearly favors, if the decorations and colorful throw pillows around the house are any indication, not to mention the bandana that frequently graces Beebee’s neck.

She leans over then, curling her hand around the back of his neck to pull him into a kiss, to show him just how thankful she is for her gift.

\--

Rey dives behind a wall, pressing her back to it as she tries to catch her breath. She can hear the distant sounds of feet stamping the ground as their owner runs, can hear shouts of shock and surprise, can see bright flashes of light.

She struggles to control her breathing, tries to isolate the sounds she hears in an attempt to pinpoint where everyone is.

With a final inhalation through her nose, she dashes across the wide opening before tucking herself over to execute a final roll on the ground to get cover.

She quickly pops her head over the ledge and sees Finn, raises her gun and flawlessly hits him in the chest.

His laser tag vest briefly flashes red, a final acknowledgment that her aim was true.

The look he gives her is shocked and surprised. She just smirks and salutes him as she runs off, once more seeking her opponents.

Rose and Paige proved inseparable as always whenever the older Tico was in town, which ultimately led them to suggest boys versus girls in Rey’s third annual birthday laser tag tournament. In prior years it was just the three women plus Finn, and they would have to join other people from the crowd to have enough players to compete.

But Snap and Karé had invited her and Poe out for drinks the week prior, and when she mentioned laser tag, Karé looked so excited that Rey couldn’t help but invite her and Snap, and to which they both enthusiastically accepted.

Rey was positively giddy that they had agreed to come. With the addition of Finn’s friend, Slip, who was in town for the first time in months and also easily the weakest of the players, it was a four-on-four competition. And by Rey’s estimation, the four women were well on their way to handily winning the third game in a row.

She tucks herself in close to a wall near the corner of a room, and slowly eases her head around to try to get a glimpse of anything waiting for her around the corner. Almost immediately she locks eyes with Poe, who apparently had a very similar idea to her, and both their eyes widen in recognition.

“Hiya, sunshine,” he says, a lopsided grin appearing on his face as the surprise fades away.

“Hiya, Poe,” she says, her own amused grin appearing on her face. She really needs to come up with a nickname for him, she can’t help but think, even as the game continues to rage on around them.

She doesn’t know why she didn’t immediately raise her laser gun towards him, nor why he hasn’t done the same to her. She thinks the game must be in its last few moments, the sharp sounds of the competitors firing at each other and running around, and even a couple of good insults being thrown by Karé to whoever is on the receiving end of her ire, filling the air, but time had slowed down when she came face to face with Poe.

The exertion of the competition looked good on him. Sweat dotted his hairline and his curls were more unruly than ever and his cheeks were flushed a pleasant shade of red. She could see that same flush spread down his neck and towards his chest where it disappeared into the open V of his shirt. She idly wondered just how far it went.

When she meets his eyes again, he was looking at her in much the same way.

A beat passes before he asks, “You having a good time, sweetheart?”

The question is both earnest and a bit flirtatious, and she almost feels a little bad when she says, “I will be.”

His expression becomes concerned, as if he’s worried she’s not been enjoying herself on her birthday and he replies, “Will be?”

“Sure will,” she replies, finally letting her face break into the wide, teasing smile that had been dying to come out. “Once we win again.”

As understanding begins to dawn on him, she raises her laser gun and fires before he even has a chance to react. His hand lifts to his chest, and he staggers back until he hits the wall.

“Betrayal,” he whispers in mock agony, and she runs off, cackling, as she searches for her next victim.

In a clean sweep, the girls take the third game, too, and they celebrate by being the most outrageous, obnoxious winners they could possibly be. Rey gloats triumphantly while Paige and Rose execute what is clearly a very well-choreographed victory dance and Karé hurls a few more choice insults towards the guys.

The guys, to their credit, take it all in good fun with only a minor amount of pouting and eye rolls.

They head to the arcade for a little while before they finally break apart for the evening. Rose, Finn, and Poe take her to a little Italian restaurant around the corner where she eats her fill of lasagna before Rose winks at the waiter, who promptly reappears moments later with a small chocolate cake.

Mercifully they don’t sing to her, nor are there any other outward signs of her birthday that would prompt curious glances from the other restaurant patrons. Finn and Rose had given her their present earlier, and no one had encouraged her to wear any birthday paraphernalia (Finn, at his birthday party a few months prior, looked positively giddy when Rose pinned a giant button to his shirt which loudly proclaimed him to be the birthday boy).

Once she had gleefully finished off her slice and they paid the bill, Rose had bundled up the remaining portion of cake and placed it in Rey’s arms. “For a midnight snack,” she teases before wrapping her arms around Rey in a hug. “Happy birthday, Rey.”

Barely a moment passes before she feels Finn’s arms wrap around them both, as if he couldn’t even wait for his turn to hug her and she grins. He was easily the most physically affectionate of their little trio.

“Happy birthday, peanut,” he says before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

When Rose and Finn finally head home, it’s only her and Poe remaining. He drives them back to his place, taking her hand as they walk up to the house.

He unlocks the door, but instead of opening it, he turns to her and says, “Close your eyes.”

She grins, amused, and when he just keeps looking at her expectantly, she sighs indulgently, and closes her eyes.

“Now keep them closed until I give the okay,” he says, and she hears the door open before he gently guides her inside. He only lets her hand go after he locks the door behind him, and she hears him move across the room, though exactly what he’s doing is less than clear.

She suddenly feels something wet and cold nosing at her leg and a huff of breath against the skin below her knee. She can’t help but giggle even as she leans down as best she can to pet him, before she thinks to ask, “Shouldn’t we take Beebee for his walk?”

Poe’s voice answers from a distance. “Nah, he’s fine. One of my friends looked after him for most of the day. I hear he had a blast with his friends from the dog park. But they walked him when they dropped him off half an hour ago, so he should be good till morning.”

Beebee gets bored after a moment, and at least this time she can follow the sound of Beebee’s footsteps as he walks to his bed in the corner of the living room and plops down. She grins at the noise. The normally energetic Beebee appears tuckered out from his day.

She senses Poe moving closer and fiddling with something on the bookshelf she stands near. A moment later, soft music starts to fill the room, and she grins when she recognizes Frank Sinatra’s voice. When they had first started rehearsing for their gig at Dex’s, she had told him of her fondness for big band type music, particularly when it featured Sinatra, even if they hadn’t worked any of his songs into their set.

“Alright, you can open your eyes now,” he says, voice low and gentle now that he’s standing next to her.

Her eyes open and she can’t help the soft sound of surprise that escapes her lips. The overhead lights are off, but the room is lit by strands of colorful lights that encircle the room. A similarly colorful bouquet of flowers rests in a vase on one side of his coffee table, now pushed to the side of the room, while on the other side of the table sits a Chinese evergreen, its container a brilliant, sunny yellow. Resting in the middle are three wrapped presents.

“Poe,” she laughs, almost giddy in her excitement. “What is all this?”

“I think that would be pretty self-explanatory,” he replies, amused. His voice is softer as he whispers in her ear, “Happy birthday, sunshine,” before kissing her cheek.

She turns her head and wraps a hand into his hair, pulling him in for a quick, intense kiss.

“Wow,” he says, when she pulls away, and a pleased smile graces her face at his reaction. “And you haven’t even seen your gifts yet. Who knows, you might regret that then.”

She rolls her eyes at him before she glances towards the table. “You really didn’t need to get me anything, you know. Just having you all there today was enough.”

“I absolutely should have,” he replies, his tone brooking no argument. “You deserve everything, Rey.”

She just looks at him, so overwhelmed she doesn’t know what to say. Instead, she grabs his hand and leads him to the table. She can’t help burying her nose in the flowers first, inhaling deeply before she sighs, pleased.

She settles down on the floor beside the table, while Poe looks around regretfully. “I’m sorry, I didn’t plan that part all the way out. We can sit on the couch and I can bring the presents to you.”

She feels her heart grow even fonder of him even if he is worrying too much at the moment. “It’s fine, Poe. Sitting on the floor never hurt anyone.”

He still looks unsure, at least until she grabs the gift sitting closest to her, at which point his attention is fully on her, an excited, if nervous, look on his face. She thinks it’s adorable, even as she tears open the wrapping paper. It’s large, and when she gets the wrapping paper off she sees a nondescript box. She opens the top flaps and peers inside. She gasps as she pulls out an emerald green tea pot and two matching cups. She had been lusting after a similar one she had seen while browsing on her phone recently while the four of them were having a movie night, and Finn had teased her about it, about how her practical nature just gave way when it came to tea. She loves the simplicity and ritual of it all, and she glances up at Poe, a wide, happy smile on her face. “Poe, this is wonderful,” she says. “I love it.”

If that was all that he had given her that night, she would still be an incredibly happy woman. But instead, he just smiles and pushes another present her way.

She takes it and finds the package gives easily in her hand. With a grin she opens it to find a throw blanket, the material a warm green color and soft between her fingers. It’s beautiful, and absolutely perfect for her. She can easily see burying herself in its comforting warmth on some lazy day.

The last is smaller than the previous two but, as she takes it in her hand, she notes that it’s firm. She thinks it might be a DVD. It seems to be the right size for it.

She tears open the paper to find another nondescript box. Curious, she opens it gingerly, in case it was something breakable, only to find a piece of paper inside.

She glances up at Poe and raises an eyebrow. He looks like the cat that ate the canary as he simply gestures towards the box and says, “Read it.”

She unfolds the paper, quickly reading. It simply confirms that Rey Jakku is enrolled in pilot lessons starting later in the fall.

She stares at it, absolutely bewildered. She’s not sure how much time passes, but Poe’s voice, suddenly nervous, breaks through the absolute surprise and astonishment and the ten million other emotions that are suddenly coursing through her.

“Those dates aren’t set in stone. I know you’re busy, so if you need to change it, we can give them a call. The school is really easy to work with. They’re just great, really.”

He stops when she glances up at him, the letter still clutched in her hands. “I can’t accept this, Poe.”

He looks puzzled. “What do you mean? Of course you can.”

“It’s too much.”

Poe shakes his head. “It’s not.”

“Poe-”

“Rey. It’s not too much,” he says adamantly, sliding forward on his knees until he can grasp one of her hands in his, as her other still holds the letter. He looks deep into her eyes as he tries to convince her. “You deserve this, and so much more. You deserve everything. You’ve talked about flying, it’s one of your dreams. If I could do anything, anything at all, to make _any_ of your dreams come true, I would do it. I love you, Rey. Please, let me give this to you.”

It’s the “I love you” that he utters, almost agonized in the depth of his feelings that it conveys, that convinces her. She loves him too, knows what he means when he says that he’d do anything to make any of her dreams come true, because it’s true for her, too. If there was something, anything, that she could do for him, she’d do it.

She’s absolutely overwhelmed, in the best of ways, by her love for this man. That’s why she can’t stop herself from practically launching herself at him, knocking him backwards, and immediately pressing her lips to his, the letter discarded to her side.

When she finally manages to drag her lips from his, it’s only far enough to dot kisses along his cheek, his brow, and his jaw, uttering “I love you, I love you,” between kisses.

As she’s kissing a line between his jawline and ear, settling a little more firmly down atop him, he manages to breath out, a little shakily, “You know, I had planned a bit more celebration, maybe some dancing.”

She notes that Frank Sinatra’s _Fly Me to the Moon_ is playing now, and she smiles against the skin of his collarbone as it hits her again how deep Poe goes in planning his romantic gestures. He certainly wasn’t lying when he told her he was a bit over the top, and he certainly didn’t disappoint with just how much care and affection he had put into planning for her birthday.

She presses a few more kisses up along the line of his neck, her smile turning a bit wicked as she gets to his ear, sucking the lobe for a moment before whispering, “This is better.”

“It is better,” Poe replies, breathily.

She shivers as he runs a hand up her spine, is absolutely delighted when she gently nips at his earlobe and elicits that same shiver from him. “You know what’ll be even better though?”

“Tell me,” he groans.

“If we move this to the bed.”

He freezes, and she pulls away just enough to look into his eyes, searching his. They discussed this, both ready to take the next step, and she thinks it’s time, but when he pauses, she worries that maybe it’s not right for him.

But then a slow smile spreads across his face, and the knot of anxiety that had suddenly taken root in her stomach begins to unfurl, and although the tension remains, it becomes something warmer and sweeter.

She giggles when he rolls them over, planting a searing kiss on her lips before quickly rising to his feet, a grin on his face. A moment later and he’s swept her to her feet, bending over to catch her behind her knees and picking her up to cradle her in his arms.

She’s absolutely delighted at it, loves that he seems to be as swept up in this moment as she is, and she can’t resist trying to distract him as he heads for the bedroom. Despite her best efforts, sucking a kiss into his neck, her hand petting at his curls, he manages to stumble into his room, his laughter and moans mingling together next to her ear.

He drops her on the bed less than gracefully and she giggles all the while, even as he falls into bed next to her, his hand coming up to cradle her face as he looks down upon her, a sweet smile gracing his face.

She shakes her head a little, amused at the way he keeps staring at her, his expression wonderous and affectionate and so loving all in one, before her hand moves to the back of his neck and pulls him in for a kiss. He goes easily, his body settling down a little more onto hers. It’s not the first time they’ve been in this position as things started to grow heated, but this time she’s armed with the knowledge that they won’t stop, that she’ll get to have everything with him, that she’ll get to feel everything with him.

His lips move to her jawline, sucking little kisses into the sensitive skin there, and every thought she has dissipates as she gives herself over to sensation. His hand moves from the other side of her jaw, down her neck, over her collarbone and along her side to her hip, before resuming its circuit. It feels good, but she wants more, and she squirms beneath him, in an attempt to get closer.

Her movement causes her shirt to ride up and his hand slips up the sensitive skin beneath it, but the pressure is too light, and causes her to laugh as she flinches away from him. “Tickles! Sorry, sorry, it tickles,” she manages to eek out between giggles as he startles at her response.

He laughs and apologizes, even as she moves to sit up, her hands reaching out to tug at the hem of his shirt. His laughter fades away, eyes growing soft with feeling once more, and he raises his arms above his head as she tugs his shirt off and throws it to the side where it lands halfway across the room.

He quirks an eyebrow at her, amused. She just shrugs.

His hand drops down to the edge of her shirt and he looks up at her from beneath lowered lashes. “May I return the favor?”

There’s nothing she wants more. “Please do,” she grins, laughing as he quickly works the shirt over her head and tosses it across the room to join his.

She can’t resist kissing him again and they fall to their sides on the bed once more. She pets at all the skin newly exposed to her, working her hand along his neck and the chain he wears there, the ring at its end falling towards his shoulder as gravity pulls it towards the bed. She moves down, feeling his muscles tense and relax as her fingers trace the lines of his chest and stomach.

She pulls away from his lips, wanting to see the vast expanse of skin before her, the contrast of her pale skin against his tan and the play of silver around his neck.

She can’t resist uttering, “You’re beautiful,” to him, loving the tinge of red that colors his cheekbones at her remark.

“Not as beautiful as you,” he replies earnestly, and she feels her own cheeks flush.

She leans in and kisses him, enjoying the feel of his lips against hers and the teasing circuit his hand has been running along her spine, up and down, until it rests against the edge of her bra.

“Please,” she whispers against his mouth, and with only a minor struggle at unhooking it, the slight clumsiness in his hands speaking of his own nervousness helping to set her own more at ease, he eases the straps down her arms and the bra off her chest.

He seems to have the same thought as her as they each clutch the other close, appreciating the other’s bare skin finally pressed against their own. Poe moans and rolls Rey on her back, one warm, broad hand running up her stomach until he palms a breast in his hand.

“You feel nice,” he mutters against the skin of her neck, and she mewls as she arches it further to give him more room. He kisses a heated line down her neck and then across her collarbone, all the while a warm hand softly massages her with a thumb at her nipple.

Her back arches when his tongue finally meets the sensitive flesh, replacing his thumb at her nipple, and she can’t stop her gasp of pleasure. She can feel his lips slide up into a grin at her reaction, before dedicating himself more fully to his task.

He’s moved to her other breast, but she needs more, she needs to touch him, more than just the skin she can reach now on his shoulders and on his back, needs to taste him. “Poe,” she breathes out, tugging as best she can at his shoulders. He makes some half-mumbled reply, and she tries again, hoping the soft, pleading “Come here” catches his attention.

It does, and his head lifts and his glazed-over eyes meet hers before she gets a hand behind his neck and urges him towards her. He leans in, kissing her hungrily, and she moans as his tongue slips in to caress hers.

She skims her hands down his chest until she reaches his belt, unlatching it and tugging it free. She then unbuttons his pants and works the zipper down before doing her best to shimmy them down his hips. She can’t get them very far. She huffs and stills her hands, looking up at him plaintively.

He notices her frustration, but to her chagrin he just grins and leans in to nuzzle at her collarbone. “Problem, sunshine?”

“Yeah, I have a problem. It’s you and your tight pants.”

Poe bursts out laughing, but it’s cut off in the middle as she pushes his shoulder and he falls over on to his side with a grunt. She straddles his legs, already pulling at his pants, relishing in his gaze, now dark and heady, as it skims over her.

His reaction makes her feel strangely pleased, desired, even powerful.

She’s worked his pants off and is basking in his hungry gaze when he suddenly sits up, pulling her close to him until she’s nestled firmly on his lap, and kisses her hungrily.

When he pulls away, his voice is lower than she’s ever heard it. “Your turn?”

Within a moment, she’s on her back again, Poe sliding down her body as he works her pants down her legs. He slowly slides his hands back up, running over her calves and up her thighs, until they rest along the hem of her underwear.

He glances up at her from under his eyelashes, gaze hungry even as he waits. With a nod from her, he leans in and presses a kiss just above the fabric, eliciting a shiver from her, before he slides them off.

His gaze slowly roves over her now that she’s fully bare to him, and the heady, powerful feeling rushes over her once more at the idea that she put that hungry look on his face, even as she can feel a flush of heat spread to her face and chest.

“You’re beautiful,” he says.

She grins. “I know. You’ve already said that tonight.”

“I mean it,” he replies, as he leans in to cover her body once more with his, his chest pressing to hers as his hips, still clad in his boxer briefs, settle between hers. “You’re absolutely beautiful, inside and out. And there’s no way I could possibly say that enough. I love you.”

She tilts her head up for a kiss and it’s sweeter than anything. There are so few people she trusts, but she believes him. She knows he says that not because of her looks, not because he’s just hoping to get laid, but because he loves her, absolutely and completely.

“I love you, too,” she says, and hopes that the sweet man in front of her knows how much she means it. She’ll never be as good with words as he is, would never be able to tell him just how much it means to her that he’s trusting her with his heart after all the pain and despair he’s been through. She could never tell him how much it means to her for the care he’s taken with her oft-broken heart, the love and affection he’s shown her, too.

She kisses him deeper and her hips begin to grind up seeking his, the sheer force of feelings roiling through her turning things more heated. He groans in reply, his hand once more dipping down between them, skimming along her skin until it reaches her apex.

He starts slow, a delicate touch until she’s writhing beneath him, her hips pushing up in search of more pressure. He stays close to her throughout, his lips pressing against hers over and over again, his tongue seeking hers, until she clutches his shoulders and shakes apart underneath him.

When she finally catches her breath and opens her eyes, she’s met with Poe’s adoring gaze. She pushes his curls out of his face and he turns his head just enough to press a kiss to the vulnerable skin on the inside of her wrist.

He’s just as sweet when he finally presses into her, slow and gentle. It’s been awhile, and she thought that there might be a bit of discomfort, but none of it actually bothers her, not when it feels so good, so right. She’s never felt this close to someone before, and when her eyes meet his, she thinks he must feel the same, the way he’s staring at her with that wondering look in his eyes.

The burn of the stretch passes soon enough, and with a gentle thrust of her hips she urges him to move. Like before, she keeps him close, his body pressing into hers, where she can feel everything and everything feels so, so right.

They set an unhurried pace, not rushing the moment, but taking the time to delight in the other’s body. The heat builds and builds until she runs her hand along his spine, urging his hips to quicken as she feels the heat rise in her belly. She wants more, wants all of it, wants to see Poe come apart with her, wants to come apart with Poe.

She sees the sweat along his hairline, the way the tendons in his neck strain and the way his breath comes faster and faster, and she’s right there with him. Her heart hammers away in her chest as his hips push deliciously into hers and she’s clutching at his shoulders, his back, as she nears completion.

“I love you,” she manages to utter one final time before she comes with a groan, trying to press her body up into his as she rides out the waves, all the love and desire and passion she feels coming together into a flurry of sensation.

Somewhere in the midst of so much pleasure, she hears him return the sentiment, and with a few more thrusts, she feels him shudder beneath her hands, his hips pressing into hers one final time before his weight comes to rest more fully upon her.

She holds him to her for a long time after, reluctant to let him go, even though she knows she needs to clean up. But Poe remains pressed to her, a hand running soothingly over her hair down to her shoulders and sides and back up again, as if he can’t quite bring himself to stop touching her quite yet.

He presses a kiss into the bare skin of her shoulder and she sighs in pleasure at the sheer perfection of the moment.

It’s a long while before she can bring herself to leave his arms.


	10. Chapter 10

“Pass me the box of pizza,” Rose says, already leaning halfway over the table with her hand outstretched. “No, the other one. Not the pineapple. Seriously, Rey, sometimes your sweet tooth just goes too far.”

Rey just grins at Rose and hands over the box of pepperoni, before turning back to Finn, who still wears an absolutely dumbstruck expression on his face.

“That last part? The bit about the project? I have no idea what you just said,” Finn says slowly, as he tries to process her previous words. “But I have no doubt that you were easily the smartest, most impressive person in that room.”

Rey grins giddily even as she shakes her head at Finn’s effusive praise. She had just finished recounting her first class that semester with Professor Skywalker. It was a new year-long course, both fall and spring, and one he had just put together for the first time that session, but Rey was already gleefully anticipating the rest of the semester.

The professor had personally handpicked the small group of undergraduate and graduate students for the class, as a way for his most exemplary students in aeronautics to exchange thoughts and advice, both academically and professionally, and to share their expertise and brainstorm new ideas, to figure out new paths their research can take.

During that first class, which Rey had started babbling about the moment the pizza arrived and everyone sat down at the little table in Finn and Rose’s apartment, the professor had them speak about the projects they worked on over the summer. The graduate students had gone first before they moved on to the younger students. By the time they got to her, she felt like she’d rehearsed her comments a dozen times. But as soon as she started talking, her nerves faded away and the enthusiasm she had for her project bubbled over.

She’s still riding high on how the other students had sat in rapt attention as she discussed her project, the sheer amount of questions from the other students excited about her work, even the way Professor Skywalker had looked upon her with pride when she deftly fielded one question after the other

She had some idea that her research was novel, even groundbreaking, that she had been given an immense amount of responsibility for someone so young (but she had earned it, she _knew_ she had earned every little bit of it), but up till today, she hadn’t really acknowledged it. It was just her and her work, that was all.

Only now was it hitting her that some of the smartest people she knew were genuinely impressed by her work. She can’t resist smiling, still incredibly happy hours after the class ended.

Poe leans in and wraps an arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently while he presses a kiss to the side of her head.

Rose gives her a wink, before asking, “So what kind of projects did the rest of the class do?”

“Oh, there were a lot of good ones! Hold on,” she says, getting up to grab her bag and pulling out the orange notebook Poe had given her to replace the old, completely filled one she had carted around everywhere to scrawl down her ideas for work and future research projects. “Since part of the idea of the class is to encourage us to build upon other ideas and incorporate it into your own and collaborate, I jotted down some notes.”

She starts flipping through the pages. “Hera had a brilliant one, as did Tallie,” she said, before giving a brief overview of their projects. “That reminds me, I need to talk to Hera later, cause I think her research could be useful to expand upon my own project. It’d be a super cool collaboration.”

Poe perks up at the mention of Hera’s project. “When I was down at the hangar a couple of weeks ago, I heard a few pilots talking about some of the modifications she was proposing. They seemed really excited about it.”

“No kidding! I’ll have to tell her about it,” Rey says with a grin. Hera and Poe ran in similar circles, both of them having their pilot licenses, but it seemed like Hera’s work was certainly preceding her. It was well-deserved recognition, Rey thinks.

“So, you said there was a mentor/mentee sort of thing, too, right?” Finn asks, propping his chin on his hand.

“Unofficially, but yeah.” It wasn’t stated outright, but the graduate students would act as unofficial mentors to the younger ones, which Rey appreciates. At her work the past summer, she often worked alone and mainly – but infrequently – interacted with support staff and her supervisors. She appreciated the confidence they had in her abilities, but the idea of getting some feedback on her work and ideas, of commiserating with someone who was following a similar academic and professional path, well, it seems like it would be a positive experience.

“That could be useful. Are they pairing you up with anyone in particular?”

“I don’t think it’s going to be that structured, but we’re encouraged to talk with those who are closest to our particular niches.”

“Oh, that could be interesting. Any names we’d recognize?” Rose asks, already stacking a few of their empty plates together to bring into the kitchen. Rey knows she’s eager to get to the cookies Finn had baked earlier that were currently sitting in the kitchen cooling off.

“There were a few people whose interests align somewhat closely with mine. But no one you’d recognize,” Rey trails off, realizing she’s going to have to tell them. Better now than to let them find out later. “The only name you’d recognize in that class other than Hera and Tallie is Ben’s.”

Rose stops halfway to the kitchen, her grip on the dirty plates tightening as she turns to look at Rey. “Ben Solo?” Rose is practically indignant. “Ben Solo is in your class? I thought the class was supposed to be for the best students, the most impressive.”

Honestly, that was Rey’s thought too when she saw Ben walk in, a cold and calculating glare on his face as he passed by her desk.

Rey shrugs. “He knows a lot about aeronautics, and he’s got a brilliant mind. He just – well, he doesn’t use it for anything good. He’d just rather blame others for his own failings, and coast by on his family name and other people’s work instead of doing something good with his smarts.”

During class, Ben mentioned the firm he spent the summer at, gloating at its prestige, but failing to note that it was same firm his uncle, Professor Skywalker himself, was a partner at, even though everyone knew it. She had briefly been interested to hear what he had spent the summer working on, as the firm was noted for being one of the largest and most innovative around . . . at least, with the exception of where Rey worked.

But by the time he was finished speaking, she was irritated to discover that he had done so little with the opportunity. His work was positively uninspired. A quick glance around the room had shown the rest of the students similarly bored and irritated.

She schooled her expression then, hoping that the small stab of jealousy didn’t show up on her face. If she had grown up with the same opportunities and support he had, well . . . she couldn’t imagine not building upon it, working doggedly until she could make something great of it.

Then again, she couldn’t imagine getting so far with so little work either.

She smiles when Finn appears to be on the same wavelength as her. It’s no surprise, really, considering their respective childhoods. “He’s been given so much, yet he doesn’t do anything _good_ with it.” Finn shakes his head, clearly aggravated. “Plus, he’s just an awful person,” Finn finishes matter-of-factly.

“Well, yes, absolutely. I think Professor Skywalker is keeping him close though, since they’re family, and maybe he’s hoping that he can set him straight. Get him to turn around, use his talent for something good and all that.”

“He’s made his choice. He’s made it over and over and over again. Even if Ben Solo was the smartest person in the world, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a neo-Nazi who bullies others and is downright cruel. Rey,” he says, trailing off, his expression morphing into something a bit more pained.

Finn doesn’t need to say the next part; they both were there. They all knew how Ben had hurt Rey when he had turned his attentions to her.

Rey can practically sense Poe’s concerned gaze directed her way, feels his arm drop from her shoulders so he can grab her hand reassuringly with his. “I don’t disagree with you. I’d rather he not be in that class either.”

Rose’s gaze is concerned, too. “Just keep an eye on him, alright? If he does anything, remember–”

“Call the police and then you,” Rey finishes with a grin, recalling that conversation vividly.

Rose nods, clearly still concerned, but heads into the kitchen only to quickly return with the tray of chocolate chip cookies.

Rey practically bounces in her seat as she waits for Finn’s famous cookies, grabbing one and immediately biting into it with pleasure. The rest eagerly join in, cookie after cookie disappearing as fast as they could be picked up and eaten. Despite the news of Ben Solo being in her class, the evening looks like it’s ending on a sweet note.

Except somewhere in the midst of dessert, a part of her realizes that Poe hasn’t let her hand go.

 --

A little more than three months later and Rey sits at her little kitchen table, humming along to the tune Poe strums on his guitar from his perch across the room on her couch.

It’s late in the fall semester, and she’s inundated with work, both academically and through her externship. She’s continued on at the company she spent the summer with, ecstatic that they let her keep control of her project.

She’s thrilled that so many possibilities suddenly seem open to her. She’s contemplating graduate school and fellowships, and ever since the company expressed interest in pitching the project to NASA, well . . . she can admit she’s taken to wearing her old, threadbare NASA t-shirt around her apartment more and more.

It’s a dream that she thinks might actually be within her grasp. During Professor Skywalker’s class last week, the students had talked about potential projects they might be interested in working on later, whether academically or professionally. Rey had suggested an expansion of her current project incorporating a recently published study in the field, and the class had eagerly started pitching in suggestions to make it a reality.

Well, most of the class seemed eager. She did her best to ignore the one angry face staring at her, the man clearly stewing in some dour mood for whatever reason.

It didn’t matter, really. She had quickly forgotten about it once Hera had come up to Rey, her own excitement at Rey’s project written vividly all over her face and in her voice, and they lost themselves in conversation. Hera’s faith in Rey’s abilities always filled her with warmth, not to mention gave her more hope and confidence that she could achieve her goals. 

For his part, Poe’s work is ramping up, too. Not his actual job, though — that hums along as steadily as ever. It’s his evenings that are filling up as he starts preparing for the spring Renaissance Faire, the days until the big event with its long weekends seemingly ticking by quicker and quicker. He leans over, making a notation on one of the papers sitting on the little coffee table in front of him before placing his hands on the guitar once more.

Suddenly, he looks up, catching her eye, and a look of concern falls over his face. “Oh no. Am I bothering you?”

She smiles quickly to reassure him. “Absolutely not. I like hearing you play.”

He’s asked her the same question the last several evenings he’s spent here working with her. There’s been an uptick in home burglaries in the area (not that they were exactly uncommon in her neighborhood to begin with), and it’s put her on alert, but his presence is more than a little reassuring. And the way Rose and Finn had looked so concerned when she had mentioned it to them, they seemed more reassured too when she told them Poe had offered to spend more time at her place.

Of course, she had easily accepted that offer.

Not that she needed any additional incentive to want to spend more time with him.

Now, most evenings she will get home from school and he will arrive soon after with Beebee in tow, the small corgi greeting her with absolute squirming adoration as Poe leans over to kiss her hello. Or sometimes she finds them there already, Poe putting dinner together in the little kitchen after he’s let himself in with the key she had given him.

It was such an easy decision to give him a key. She thought she might be more nervous or anxious about making that decision, but it was as easy as could be. And they way that she sees them settle into this easy sort of domesticity warms her, even as it makes her wonder if they should make it more permanent.

She thinks it’s about time for a break from her studying anyway and walks over to join him on the couch. He smiles at her warmly as she sits beside him.

Her eyes roam over the sheets of music in front of him. “Are these new?”

“A few of them. I emailed my buddy down in Texas, the one who trained me, and he sent me a couple of new ones. Thought I might change my set up a bit,” Poe says, lightly strumming over the guitar’s strings.

“I don’t know, I thought your set was pretty good to begin with.”

“You think so?” Poe asks, grinning.

Part of her wants to tease him, see his eyes alight with mirth as he gives as good as he gets.

The other part wins out, and she moves closer towards him, breathing out “I know so,” just as her lips meet his.

She feels him moving to set the guitar carefully off to the side of the couch before he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her closer to him.

It’s so easy to climb into his lap, settle down till there’s no space between them, kissing him deeply and thoroughly until they’re both out of breath.

The couch isn’t the most spacious, but they’ve made it work before, and tonight they seem determined to do so once again. They both laugh as they wiggle and squirm while working their clothes off, their laughter quickly giving way to moans as they lose themselves in each other

Long after they catch their breath, they remain close together on the couch. It’s small enough that she’s more or less draped on top of him, their flushed skin still pressed together, as he runs his fingers through her hair, which at some point had come unbound from her bun.

He starts humming a song, and she sighs happily, feeling his chest vibrate underneath her cheek. It takes her a few moments before she recognizes the song, and it feels right to join along with him, her voice soft as she sings the words to _Dream a Little Dream of Me_.

It’s one of the first songs they sung together, other than the day in the car they sang along to _Sweet Caroline_. But she loves the way their voices had come together when they found _Dream a Little Dream of Me_ , the way the song seemed made just for them. She loves the song. She loves him.

Somewhere along the way, Poe loses the thread of the song and chuckles. She makes a questioning noise.

“I was just thinking of something Finn said,” Poe starts.

“Maybe not the best time to be thinking about Finn,” she teases. Those two have become as thick as thieves ever since the day at the Renaissance Faire.

He pokes her in the side causing her to giggle. “He offered to represent us if we ever went professional.”

She laughs. “That’s absurd. He knows me better than that. I have no intention of ever making music a career.”

“I told him that! Not to mention that I don’t want to either. Then he told me he doesn’t really want to be a music guy either, so I don’t really know how that conversation started. I should probably mention that there were a couple of drinks involved by that point.”

She giggles again. “Get a couple of drinks in both of you, and I think you two would probably come up with plans to take over the galaxy.”

“I’ll admit that we sometimes come up with some pretty big ideas but taking over a galaxy doesn’t sound like something either of us would want to do.”

She snorts a little, presses a kiss into his chest just above his heart. “Okay, I’ll give you that.”

“But it did get me thinking,” he begins.

“Uh-oh,” she interrupts.

“You wound me, my dear,” he says, letting out a long-suffering sigh to tease her, and she can’t resist grinning again. “But I was thinking – and feel free to tell me to ‘shut up’ and ‘absolutely not’– but I would love if you joined me up on stage one weekend at the Faire. Just for a song or two! But I think it could be really fun and it could be for a weekend when Rose and Finn attend and–”

He’s starting to babble, in a way he seldom does unless he’s nervous. She lifts her head from his chest and smiles down at him. “I’d love to.”

He looks shocked. “Really?”

She chuckles at his expression. “Really. But just for a song or two. I think it’d be nice to do it on a weekend they’d attend, and I – well, I think it’d be fun to sing with you again. It’d be nice.”

His mouth is still slightly agape in surprise and she can’t resist leaning down and kissing him. He seems to recover quick enough, even if the kiss is less coordinated than usual as he smiles underneath her, his hand coming up to stroke softly at her hair and neck.

When she finally pulls away, his hand lingers, and he runs his fingertips gently along her cheekbone, across her jaw and neck, as if he can’t quite get enough of feeling her skin against his.

“I love you, you know,” he whispers, that simple phrase so full of feeling.

“I know,” she whispers, not daring to speak louder in fear of ruining the moment and the feeling of warmth and love and perfection that surrounds them. “I love you, too.”

His fingers still on her cheek and he stares at her for a long moment, wide eyed, before pulling her into a kiss.

Her eyes fall close and she just lets herself sink into the feeling.


	11. Chapter 11

Since the Renaissance Faire starts in little more than a month, and she’s working on a big project for Professor Skywalker’s class, this is the last evening in a while where she and Poe will have enough time to just _be_ with each other. So, they go out for dinner and a movie, and she feels like she has a smile on her face throughout the whole evening.

It’s late when they pull into her parking lot, and she has half a mind to change her mind and ask Poe to take her to his, but she was planning on getting up early tomorrow. Between school and work and Poe, and their recent battle royale with Rose and Finn and their extensive supply of board games, she’s been neglecting chores around her place. It’s starting to show enough to bother Rey, and she’s never been one to maintain a squeaky-clean household anyway.

And Poe’s gotta get back to Beebee, so he can’t stay at hers tonight.

She’s starting to think that maybe it’s about time to talk to him about changing their living situation up, when Poe turns the engine off and grins before leaning over the car’s center console to press a series of quick kisses along her cheek and neck.

Rey can’t help but giggle, and before he can move to exit the car, she stops him with a hand on his arm. It’s her turn to kiss him, and she leans in to catch his lips with her own, Poe’s hand coming up to cradle her jaw. It seems neither of them can quite bring themselves to leave the car, as any time that she moves to pull away, that hand on her jaw, that thumb stroking just alongside her lips, reminds her that she wants to be close to him once again.

“You know, it’ll probably be more comfortable to do this outside the car,” Poe says, words half mumbled into her mouth.

“What, you don’t like the console,” she says jokingly, poking him in the ribs right above where he leans into the console, and he huffs out a laugh.

“I’m not particularly fond of anything that keeps me separated from you,” he responds, as he kisses along her jawline.

“Oh, smooth talker,” she teases, and though she can’t see it, she can practically feel his eyes rolling. He retaliates by sucking a little kiss into the sensitive skin beneath her ear, and when she groans at the sensation, she feels his lips turn up in a grin.

“Just hold on, I’ll get your door,” he says, finally pulling away to exit the car.

She hides her smile as she says loudly enough that he would be able to hear her from where he’s currently walking around the front of the car to her door, “You’re gonna spoil me if you keep doing things like this.”

Poe opens her door with a flourish. “Maybe you deserve to be spoiled a little.”

She can’t help her fond smile. “That’s sweet. But you don’t need to get out of the car, I can walk myself to my own apartment.”

“I know you can. Maybe I just like to admire you while you do it, since you do it so well.”

“I don’t even know what that _means_ ,” she laughs, even as she takes his offered elbow.

They walk up the lighted path around the corner to Rey’s apartment. It’s a testament to just how wrapped up she is in Poe and all the wonderful feelings that surround them that she doesn’t notice it until she’s right in front of it.

Her front door is slightly ajar, just enough that she can see the sliver of light from inside peeking through. Even if the door hadn’t been partly open, she’d still know something was wrong. She always makes sure to turn off all the lights before she leaves. She hates wasting energy and it’s not like she has the extra money to pay for it anyway.

She just barely manages to notice fresh nicks around the keyhole — and some logical, detached part of her mind thinks that someone was attempting to conceal their entry to her apartment before leaving in a hurry — when Poe grabs at her elbow and tugs her away from the door and back towards the parking lot.

Poe is gentle as he leads her away, but even so, the suddenness of the movement is jarring. She gets a glimpse of Poe’s face, his face drawn into a mask of determination, and it’s like he’s suddenly become a soldier intent on getting the task done.

She drops into the passenger seat when he opens the door for her and a moment later he’s sliding into the driver’s seat, eyes wide as he scans the area around them, his hands trembling as he dials 911.    

He’s efficient on the phone. He tells the dispatcher that he’s reporting a break in and gives them her address. He stays on the phone for a few minutes, responding to questions the dispatcher asks, and all the while Rey watches him, watches as his eyes continue to scan the area, jumping from the front windshield to the rearview mirror and then the side mirrors and back again.

He’s on the phone so she can’t tell him that it’s okay, that in this neighborhood, you get used to incidents like these. She probably couldn’t tell him that anyway, not while seeing how he’s on high alert for a break in where the burglar is long gone anyway.

Instead, she reaches out and grabs the hand that isn’t holding the phone, and cradling it in both of hers, smooths her thumb across his knuckles until the police pull in to the parking lot.

She admires the way he remains coolly efficient, talking to the cops and answering their questions as he leads them towards her apartment. If it wasn’t for the constant slight trembling in his hands and the way he clasps her hand tightly in his, she would never be able to tell that he was so affected.

It’s a bit startling to her. She’s always thought Poe was exceptionally easy to read, wearing his emotions openly on his sleeve without reserve. Now, she wonders how he suddenly became possessed with this ability.

She loses track of time, between waiting for the police to conduct their investigation and talking to a few neighbors who come by to chat and see what was going on. She’s sitting near her front door concealing her yawns, Poe’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, when the police finally let her in.

There are a few obvious things missing. Her laptop is gone. So is her collection of DVDs and a jar of spare cash she kept in the kitchen. Her desk and her messenger bag have been ransacked as had her dresser drawers. If they were expecting to find expensive jewelry, they’d clearly come to the wrong place. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to take.

When the police suggest she stay somewhere else that evening, she readily takes Poe up on his offer to stay at his. Within the half hour, her apartment is locked up tight again, and she’s sitting cross-legged on Poe’s living room floor, giving a squirming Beebee a belly rub while Poe makes them mugs of tea.

It’s not long before she’s in one of Poe’s t-shirts and cuddling up to him in his darkened bedroom. He wraps his arm around her, keeping her close, and a part of her wonders if he’s holding her a bit tighter than usual. Before she can really consider it though, the excitement of the evening and her exhaustion catch up to her and she’s out for the night.

\--

She’s not sure how long she’s slept, but when she opens her eyes, the dull gray light of morning filters in through the bedroom curtains. She blinks blearily a few times, always slow to wake up but enjoying the way Poe’s arm is secure across her shoulders, the way his fingers lightly stroke the bare skin along her upper arm.

Then she blinks a few more times, realizes that his arm is still secure across her shoulders, just like it had been before they went to sleep late last night, and that his fingers are stroking across her upper arm now.

Poe’s awake now.

And his arm hasn’t moved.

She wonders if he slept at all.

She sits up slightly, just enough to see his face. The arm around her loosens to allow her to move, but he doesn’t stop touching her. When his eyes meet hers, they’re wide open and red-rimmed.

“Morning, sunshine,” he whispers, voice soft. There’s no hint of him recently being asleep in it, either.

“Morning,” she whispers back, her eyes studying his face.

He smooths his hand over her hair. “It’s still early, if you want to get a little more sleep.”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m up.”

“Hungry? I can make pancakes. I’ve got chocolate chips and whipped cream, just the way you like them,” he says, already moving to get out of bed.

It is her favorite, but she has more important things on her mind. “Poe, did you sleep at all?” She asks, reaching a hand out to rest on his shoulder.

He just leans his head down, quickly pressing a kiss to her fingers. “I’m fine.”

He’s out the door before she can protest.

It doesn’t take her long to follow him, her feet hitting the cold floor with only a minor grimace, and she finds him in the kitchen moments later. He pulls out ingredients for the pancakes from the cupboard before heading to the fridge, and not once does he look back to her.

He hasn’t even turned on the radio. He always turns on music when he’s cooking.

She sits down at the kitchen table, watching as he starts cooking the pancakes on the stove, his actions coolly efficient, lacking the energy and sheer verve that always seems to infuse his movements, even early on a Sunday morning.

She doesn’t say anything. She knows he’ll speak when he’s ready.

He sits a plate filled with pancakes in front of her and a slightly smaller plate in front of him, along with syrup and whipped cream, before quickly diving into his meal. Somewhere between dousing his pancakes with the syrup and picking up his fork, he reaches over and clasps her hand tightly in his.

Then he puts his fork back down and glances somewhere just over her shoulder. “I wasn’t going to ask you like this, but I was thinking that — well, I was wondering if you wanted to move in together.”

Not exactly what she was expecting to hear. It was something she’d been thinking about herself for a while, but . . . “Then why are you asking me now?”

He shrugs, uncertainly. “My lease ends in a couple of months. I can renew, or we could find someplace new, but I wanted to see what you think first, see if you wanted to live together.”

She knows that he knows what she meant by her question. “Not quite what I was asking,” she says, softly.

He sighs, his eyes tentatively meeting hers, shoulders sagging. “I like having you near. Knowing you’re . . . safe.”

She turns her hand so it’s facing up, palm pressing into Poe’s and wrapping her fingers around his. She figured that’s why he asked the question now instead of waiting. She understands it. Still, “I’m not making a decision like that based on fear, Poe.”

She knows his history. Knows about Muran, knows that one day                Poe had him and the next day he didn’t, killed in a place that Poe couldn’t be. But she knows herself, too, has had people leave her behind and try to control her. She knows better than to make a decision based on fear.

“It’s not,” he protests, and in response to her disbelieving look, sighs and says, “It’s not entirely. Maybe the timing changed last night. Reminded me what I could lose before I take the chance, reminded me that we don’t always have as long as we think.” He squeezes her hand. “But I’m not particularly fond of anything that keeps me separated from you, anyway,” he says, a soft smile on his face, reminding her of his words from the night before as his lips pressed kisses to her jaw.

“You were already thinking about it?”

He nods, the motion slow and smooth, as if it was the most certain thing in the world. “For a while now. Been thinking about a lot of things,” he says, his fingers rubbing along the back of hers, a gentle, soothing motion. “Been thinking about moving in together, me making you breakfast in the mornings, lazy weekend mornings curled up on the couch with Beebee resting at our feet. The whole place covered in plants and flowers and whatever else you dreamed of.”

He takes a breath in, letting it out slowly, his eyes casting down to the table where their hands lay clasped together. “Been thinking more and more about my ma’s ring, the one I wear around my neck,” he says, his other hand gesturing to the chain around his neck that disappears into his sleep shirt. “Been thinking that it’s meant for you, that one day I’m gonna ask you to marry me, and that if I’m very, very lucky, that it might end up on your hand.”

Finally, he lifts his eyes to hers, a certain shyness she’s never associated with him now emanating from them. “But that’s all one day, sometime in the future, if you want that too. In the meantime, I just wanna be with you. As often as I can be.”

Now it’s her turn to look down at their joined hands. She studies them for a long moment, before looking back up at him with a soft smile. “Don’t you think you’re spoiling the surprise?”

His face morphs from surprise into something pleased, his own smile blossoming on his face. “Nah. I know you don’t like surprises, not like this,” he says, lifting her hand to press a kiss to the back of it. “We both need to move as slow as we need to, and I’m willing to wait for you. To wait for the right moment.”

“What’s the right moment?”

His face changes again, becomes something softer, something peaceful and sweet. “When we’re ready, you’ll see.”

\--

That evening, with the permission of the detective working the burglaries at her apartment complex, including her own, and with a request from him to send a finalized list of any other missing possessions or other information she may think of, she returned to her apartment.

Not for long, though. She packed a bag with a handful of clothes and other necessities from her bedroom before heading back into her living room. While Poe sat on her couch, she went to her desk and gathered up the items strewn haphazardly about, putting her textbooks and her calculators back into her messenger bag.

Her brow furrowed. She opened her desk drawers and took a quick walk around her apartment, glancing over the counters and shelves. After digging through her messenger bag one final time, Poe’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“Everything alright?”

“It will be,” she said, in an attempt to keep her spirits up, though her weary voice betrayed her after the past day. “You ready to go?”

He nodded and she followed him out the door, flipping off the lights before closing and locking the door behind her.

As she got into the passenger seat of his car, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text. Then, they were on their way home.


	12. Chapter 12

“Look, if you don’t get in here now and try this on, I’m gonna—”

“Alright, alright, I’m on my way!” Rey exclaims laughingly, giving Poe a kiss on the cheek before making her way over to Rose and Paige.

Paige is back in town for two weeks, just long enough to visit Rose and some old friends and attend the Renaissance Faire at the end of it all before heading back west. So, while Finn grills hamburgers outside and keeps an eye on a pie baking in the oven and Poe chops vegetables for the side dishes, Rose and Paige have been working on the outfits.

Paige has taken back the outfit that Rey borrowed last year, and with more than a little help from Rose, Rey’s got a new dress. Rey can’t sew to save her life, but Rose . . . Rose can work some magic with a needle and thread.

Rey quickly slips into the bedroom to pull on the chemise and the teal blue overdress before walking back out to the two women. Rose quickly glances over her before helping her lace up the front of the dress with its gold ties and giving it another critical look. Rose fiddles a little more with the corset laces, pulling them taut as Rey lets out an amused huff.

“Not too tight. I gotta be able to breathe, you know,” she teases.

“Oh, what do you need to breathe for,” Rose jokes back, missing the way Poe looks over at Rey, giving her a wink while she grins back. They haven’t told the others the plan. They’re hoping for it to be a surprise.

“I’m gonna take the hem up a little,” Rose says, “but otherwise I think it looks good.”

With a final nod of approval, Rose sprawls back down on the couch next to Paige while Rey heads for the kitchen.

“You better not get any food on that dress!” Rose yells from the couch.

Rey sticks her tongue out at Rose before facing Poe, who’s paused from mixing ingredients together.

“You look beautiful,” he says softly, and she gives him another kiss, riding high on the compliment and the look in his eyes long after.

In fact, the compliment keeps her in good spirits well into dinner, when the subject of work and the next few weeks comes up.

“I’ve got a paper due the Friday before, but then I’m home free just in time for the Faire,” Finn says in between bites of his hamburger.

“Maybe this time you’ll remember your costume,” Rose says, her tone of nonchalance belied by the sparkle in her eyes.

Finn pokes her in the side, eliciting a laugh from the young woman. “I’ll have you know it’s hanging just inside the closet door . . .  coincidentally, I didn’t put it there either.”

Paige says, eyes wide and teasing, “Maybe it’s your house elf.”

“Maybe so,” Rose replies with a wink.

“We have project proposals due that Wednesday too,” Rey says, her fork scattering a scoop of potato salad across her plate. “It’s getting to midterm time, I guess.” She catches Finn’s eye from across the table and shrugs her shoulders before scooping up a bite of her food.

“Everything alright, peanut?” Finn asks, clearly concerned.

She’s mentioned it to Poe in the last few days, in between practice sessions and her hurriedly trying to replicate her notes and ideas that she had once scrawled down into her notebook. She had some ideas that she wanted to incorporate into her project for Professor Skywalker’s class that she could also hopefully use at her job, ideas she had here and there that she had quickly jotted down, but –

“I lost my notebook. The one I use for my work notes and such. I’ve been trying to remember everything so that I can finish putting this project together and submit it for Skywalker’s class, but,” and she shrugs again, as if it doesn’t concern her nearly as much as it actually does, “it’s a bit slow going, that’s all. Just a little frustrated.”

Poe reaches over and squeezes her hand. She holds on, resting it in her lap while the others across the table exchange concerned glances.

“Lost it?” Rose asks hesitantly.

It’s clear what Rose is getting at. Rose and Finn, and even Paige when she found out just a few days ago, had been as concerned as Poe had been about the break in.

“Maybe. Or maybe it was stolen. I dunno, but I can’t imagine why anyone would take it. You couldn’t really leverage that into any money or anything valuable, I don’t think, unless you know what you’re looking at, maybe?” She had already considered the idea, tossed it to the side as too improbable. “Besides, it’s taken a little while to come up with the full list of things that were taken. Only realized a few other things were missing once I started moving into Poe’s.”

She’s sent a couple of updates to the detective who was working the burglaries at her apartment complex, including hers, and he’s kept her up to date on the investigation, although it seems to have been less than fruitful at the point. Though honestly she’s been too distracted by the stress of getting her project together to the level it needs to be in time, while also trying to get ready for the Faire, to pay much attention to the detective’s progress. Only Poe and Beebee and the moments with her friends, like now, has been keeping her sane lately.

“How is the new living situation anyway?” Rose asks.

“It’s _fantastic_ ,” she says excitedly, causing the rest of the table to burst out laughing. “It’s closer to both school and work and there’s so much more room to spread out, and we split up his little office area and I got the window for my plants, and Beebee is just _the best_.”

“And what am I, chopped liver?” Poe asks, teasingly.

Rose chimes in, “But it’s Beebee.” Her face is fond, which is no surprise. When the two had met, they had instantly clicked.

Rey just nods at Poe, as if that explains everything.

Poe sighs and nods, too. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. On the other hand, I got the best new roommate.”

“You really did,” Rey says, as seriously as she can manage while a smile desperately tries to break free.

Poe’s eyes meet hers. “I really did.”

They exchange a soft, sweet smile. At least, until twin bread rolls hit them both squarely in the chest, and the banter picks up once again.

\--

When Tuesday afternoon rolls around, Rey finds herself in one of the classrooms the aeronautics department uses, her items strewn about on the desk around her, furiously typing away at her laptop and scrawling notes on some scratch paper.

It’s not her trusty orange notebook, that’s for sure. She still feels almost adrift without its presence beside her, still desperately trying to remember some of the notes she had written to incorporate into her project.

Luckily Hera had some time a few days before to sit down with her over coffee, and together they were able to drag up some of the memories from classes earlier in the semester that had spawned Rey’s ideas. It certainly helped that Hera’s project was a catalyst for more than a few of those ideas, too.

Like Rey, Hera sits in the classroom as well, a few rows ahead with her with her laptop and notes nearby, along with a giant thermos of some steaming drink. Rey would kill for a cup of tea, but her own stash of snacks and energy drinks would have to suffice for now.

Looking about the classroom filled with a handful of other students, everyone has their own collection of snacks and drinks to see them through the long night. She bets if she takes a look in the other classrooms, she’ll find them filled with Professor Skywalker’s students, too. She’s seen more than a few pass by in the hallway during the course of the afternoon.

Speaking of, she sees Professor Skywalker materialize in the doorway. She’s seen him a few times that afternoon checking in on the gathered students, as he had for the last several days when they had first started gathering in preparation for the submission of their projects. He’s been offering advice, taking questions, and more than once dropping off additional snacks.

Right now, she watches him briefly scan over the gathered students before making his way to a table up front and placing a box on it. She recognizes the logo, but she’s pleased to have confirmation when he waves his hand above it and announces “Donuts” to the class.

She hears pleased murmurs and a few students stand up to grab some food and talk to the Professor. She waits for the other students to sit back down before she stands up, eager to have a chance to catch his ear on a part of her project that’s been frustrating her for at least the last hour.

“Rey!” He calls, ushering her forward. “And how’s your project coming along? I’m eager to see how you would implement some of the ideas we’ve talked about recently.”

She smiles, though it’s not nearly as bright as it could be, as frustrated as she is right now. “I think I’ve been able to incorporate them into my project, but I’m still worried that I’ve forgotten something. It feels like something’s missing.”

Understanding dawns on his face. “I know that the burglary has been hard on you. Both in terms of the invasion of your space and privacy, and the loss of your notes. I swear, every time I looked at you, you were scrawling something new and brilliant down in there.”

She nods slowly, the stress of it all still burdening her shoulders, but she knew Professor Skywalker would understand. He’s always been incredibly perceptive and supportive, letting her talk through some of her ideas these last few weeks as she struggled to rebuild what she had lost.

He continued. “But you don’t need that notebook. You already have what you need up in here,” he says, his forefinger tapping her temple gently. “But now tell me, was there something in particular you needed?” He asks, already moving to place a donut on a napkin before handing it to her. “Other than to satisfy your sweet tooth, I mean.”

She smiles more fully this time and accepts the treat. “Actually, there is.” In between bites of her donut, she explains to Professor Skywalker the hang-up she has in her project, how there seems to be a missing link in one of the steps that would hopefully lead her to a successful outcome.

In between bites of his own donut, he peppers her with questions, trying to work out the flaw that prevents the project from getting there.

Finally, he leans back against the desk, deep in thought. “I think I’ve seen a text touch on just that issue, but it’s a little outside of my own wheelhouse. I have copy of it, though,” he says, and pulls out a key ring from his pocket and holding it out to her. “I need to stop in one of the other classrooms, but if you go into the teaching assistant’s office connected to mine, it should be on the top shelf, in the brown cover.”

When he tells her the name of the book, a lightbulb goes off in her head. She had made a note to take a look at that very text earlier . . . in her notebook. She huffs out a laugh and tells him exactly that.

“Then we know we’re headed in the right direction,” Professor Skywalker says, squeezing her shoulder before walking out of the room.

She follows moments later, taking a right where Professor Skywalker had taken a left, keeping her eyes straight ahead as she passes Ben Solo, who heads for the stairway. She thinks he’s probably headed to the vending machine, at least she hopes he is. He’s the professor’s teaching assistant, and that office is used by him and one other student who fills the second spot. She’s just relieved that Ben won’t be in there when she is. She could just ignore him when they pass in the hallway, but she doesn’t know if she would have been able to contain her scowl at seeing him if he had been in the teaching assistant’s office when she arrived.

She fiddles with the key before unlocking the door and pushing it open. The room’s dark except for two solitary lamps at opposite corners in the room, and the weak light that filters in through the half-opened window blinds. She suppresses a shiver. It’s not very welcoming, even if she’s not planning on staying long. She doesn’t turn on the overhead, just heads towards the bookshelf.

She makes her way around the first desk, which clearly belongs to the other teaching assistant based on the bright yellow hoodie resting on the back of the chair. She scans the titles along the top shelf, but the book isn’t there. Heading towards the other bookshelves, she passes what must be Ben’s desk, if the unkempt papers, snapped pencils, and black messenger bag are any indication.

She does her best to ignore the desk — really anything associated with Ben Solo — and instead focuses on the bookshelf. She spies the book she needs and reaches up for it, eager to start perusing it in the hopes it’ll give her an answer.

She’s already flipping it open, one eye on the book while the other guides her way out of the room, but there’s something nagging at her, some instinct that tells her to stop and wait and _think_.

She realizes she might’ve spotted something, something familiar and something that certainly didn’t belong here.

She turns and stares at Ben’s desk, scans over the items until she sees the bright pop of orange peeking out from beneath some papers.

With a sinking feeling, she walks over and nudges the papers aside until she sees the familiar orange cover, the spots of ink and coffee that mar the sides. She flips the notebook open and everything comes screeching to a halt.

That’s her notebook. _That is hers_. The one she’s been missing for weeks now, the one she’s been struggling to make do without, struggling to continue on with her work and her studies and her projects, as she poured so much of her thoughts, her intellect, her professional ideas and pursuits into it.

The one that someone had broken into her apartment and stolen from her.

The realization dawns on her so strongly that she misses the sound of the door opening and closing.

“What are you doing in here? This office is for the teaching assistants only.”

She wants to _scream_ , she wants to growl at him and tear him apart, her teeth bared, for the agony and the violation and just _everything_ she’s been through these last few weeks, what she had been through with him before—

She realizes that her body is blocking his view of the desk and the notebook she just discovered.

With one hand, she nudges the papers back over her notebook until it’s hidden once more, so he has no idea she discovered it.

She turns, her face in what she hopes is an aloof, neutral expression, and says simply, “Luke sent me in here for this book. I was just glancing through it.”

“Oh?” Comes the direct, one-word reply, and Rey can’t quite suss out any emotion or feeling behind it.

She nods, her hand pulling out her cell phone, saying, “Yep. Though Professor Skywalker thought there would be another book in here too, but I can’t find it. Maybe it’s in the library,” and she hopes he thinks she’s searching the school’s database.

It seems to be a sufficient ruse and his expression turns curious. “What book?”

She tells him the first title that springs to mind, relieved that it’s a somewhat similar topic to her project.

“Actually, I think we do have that one in here somewhere.” He steps around the desks to examine the bookshelves before stopping at one and pulling a text from it. “Here it is,” he says as he walks over to her, the book held out in front of him.

It’s only when she goes to take the book from him and he refuses to let go that she realizes that she was not nearly as successful as she hoped to be.

“I know it’s been hard. I’ve seen you struggling,” he says, soft and dangerous. “I can help you. You’re not alone anymore.”

Her eyes widen. That was not what she was expecting. She struggles for a reply, finally settling on, “But I’m not alone.”

“But you are, aren’t you? You’re a nobody. Come from nothing. Struggling to make a name for yourself in a profession where you’re sorely out of your depth, nobody of any consequence to support you. But you know this, don’t you? You’ve always known. This is no place for you. But I can help you. Maybe, maybe if you join me, together we can build something great. Just come back to me.”

She’s seething, feels the bile rising in her throat even as old memories come hurling back at her, the insults, the agony, the desperate loneliness and pain. She’s distantly aware of her phone vibrating in her hand. She ignores it. Instead, other memories, pure and surrounded by light, come to her. Visions of her running to Finn, excitedly telling him about the internship she just secured, him telling her that she was amazing and how proud he was of her. She remembers the time they were on a hike and she stumbled over a log, how he reached out his hand and she grabbed it, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t let her fall. Then came Rose — beautiful, dear Rose — who taught her what it meant to have a sister, someone she could dress up with and complain to and laugh with and tease, and who she never worried would leave her.

Then there was Poe, her sweet, loving Poe, whose gentleness and warmth made it so easy to love him, who she never doubted loved her, who placed his trust in her and let her see the broken pieces of him. Who sang with her, and in those moments where she might have felt unsure and vulnerable, always made her feel completely safe and secure.

She thinks all this, has a dozen or more points ready to go to dispute him, but realizes with sudden clarity that she doesn’t need nor want to waste her time on him. So instead, she simply says, “I’m not a nobody. And you’re nothing to me.”

She moves to go around him, not caring anymore if he figures out she found the notebook and goes to hide the evidence, but the door swings open before she can go far.

Professor Skywalker strides in followed by a school security officer.

She’s distantly aware of Professor Skywalker saying something, Ben turning to look briefly at him before looking back at Rey, the surprise and shock fading away into something darker, something baser, and he takes two steps towards her until he’s closer than an arm’s length away.

Barely a moment later, he’s on the floor, one hand clutched to his nose and the other to his groin.

She steps over him, until she’s standing next to the professor and the officer. The officer gives her an admiring nod before stepping towards Ben and advising him to stay on the floor.

She’s always been a fighter. And with Finn, she’s always had a competent sparring partner whose kept her in shape these last few years.

Professor Skywalker gives her an assessing once over. “You okay?”

She just nods and says, “Yes,” and she’s glad when he doesn’t push any further.

“I got your text and grabbed the officer downstairs. I filled him in on the situation as we came up here.”

She glances quickly at her phone. There’s no reply from Professor Skywalker, who she had sent one of her texts to. There’s a response from the other one, though.

“The detective working the burglary of my apartment is on his way,” she announces to the room.

The officer looks over his shoulder and nods at Rey before turning back to Ben who remains on the floor.

The detective shows up shortly after, asks a few quick questions of both Rey and Professor Skywalker and confers with the security officer. He glances over the desk and picks up Rey’s notebook with a gloved hand before slipping it into a plastic bag.

Then he talks to Ben, and while Rey can’t tell what’s being said, she can guess. She doesn’t stay to listen, and instead walks with Professor Skywalker towards his office.

She sees Ben being marched down the hallway in cuffs moments later and with one final look, she closes the door.

\--

“My smart, brave girl,” Rose says, leaning in to press a smacking kiss to Rey’s cheek. “I’ve never been so grateful to be someone’s second call. Or text. Whatever.”

“Actually,” Rey says sheepishly. “You were my third.”

“Wait, third? Who else were you texting?” Rose asks.

“Yep. My third. First was to Professor Skywalker. I told him Ben had my notebook and he found me in the TA’s office. Then I managed to get the second one off to the detective which pretty much said the same thing,” and while Rose nods along, she adds, “I actually didn’t get a chance to text you and Poe until, like, twenty minutes later after Ben was arrested and I talked to the professor for a bit.”

“Yeah, she texted me fourth. I was way down that list,” Poe says. His arm is around her shoulders and he squeezes gently before pressing a kiss to her temple.

She reaches up with one hand to clasp Poe’s, giving him a soft, fond smile, as she tells him, “Sorry you were the fourth, but I made a promise.”

“I’m only teasing,” he says, and while she never feared otherwise, it’s comforting to hear. “I’m just glad you’re safe and sound.”

Finn sits across from her, reaching his hand across the table to grasp her other hand. “Yeah, peanut. We’re just glad you’re safe and you can start putting all this behind you.” Paige, who sits next to him, murmurs her agreement.  

She feels surrounded on all sides by love and affection, a delightful counterpoint to the stress of midweek. And while she won’t get her notebook back any time soon — if ever, thanks to its status as evidence in the criminal case against Ben Solo — the detective promised to get her photocopies of her notes next week.

To top it all off, Professor Skywalker gave her an extension on her project until she could get her notes back and work them into it, murmuring something about how he felt she was just on the edge of something brilliant, and that maybe the gift he could give her now was time.

She was grateful for the extra time, but she didn’t think she needed it. She accepted it though, and she thought that Professor Skywalker looked relieved when she did so, especially after she waved off his attempts to apologize for his nephew. Still, she can’t help but wonder if he felt guilty at all. She hopes not. It wasn’t his fault. For all the advantages he had in his life, Ben Solo was an adult and he had made his choices over and over and over again.

Another gift sat in front of her now. It wasn’t bright orange. No, this time it was a deep green, the Tree of Life etched into the soft leather cover of the notebook. It was beautiful, and when Poe had presented it to her that morning, she almost cried before pressing her lips to his repeatedly.

She runs her finger over the soft cover now, already treasuring the gift deeply. With one final kiss pressed to her temple, he stands and makes his way around the side of the room to talk with a few others as they prepare to take the stage.

Moments later a voice announces Poe’s name, and he and the accompanying band take the stage.

He smiles down at Rey before turning his attention to the rest of the crowd who continue to clap and clamor for him.

Rey grins. She remembers the time, only a year ago, that he appeared before her at this very Faire and on this very stage, and each time she had been practically overcome by his voice and the words of his song.

In the space of a year, nothing has changed. As he begins to sing, she closes her eyes, lets it all drift over her. Even with all of the excitement in the air from the pub’s patrons, there’s a serenity, too, and she feels love and joy and belonging sitting here amongst her friends while listening to the sweetest voice she’s ever heard.

Somewhere during the third song, she realizes the time is fast approaching and moves to stand.

Rose reaches out to squeeze her hand, a puzzled expression on her face. “You okay?” Finn and Paige are looking at her quizzically, too.

She can understand why they’re puzzled about her leaving in the middle of Poe’s set. But she just grins and says, “I’m fine. You’ll see,” giving them a wink before she worms her way around the tables towards the side of the stage.

She stops at the edge of the stairs as Poe finishes his song, and she glances back towards the table. Only Finn faces her, Paige and Rose both turned towards the stage, and she sees his eyes widen, a hand go up to cover his mouth for the briefest moment before uncovering it to reveal the brightest, happiest smile.

She grins back, puts a finger over her lips as if it was a secret between the two, already eager to see the looks of surprise on Rose and Paige’s faces. Even if she couldn’t see the same on Finn’s as she took the stage, she’ll take this moment now, feeling her excitement level rise as the worst of her anxiety melts away at his support.

Then Poe announces her name, extending an arm towards the side of the stage, and she takes the stairs and his hand, feeling the rest of her nervousness fade away.

She looks towards the table, sees Finn whistling with his fingers between his lips and Paige clapping wildly and Rose hollering excitedly as she stands up to cheer.

The three’s enthusiasm catches the crowd’s attention, and she leans into the microphone to say, “I haven’t even done anything yet,” and the resulting laughter and cheers ramps the excitement up higher.

Then Poe strums at his guitar, a tune that she’s unfamiliar with, and the moment is so familiar, her memories so potent of the first time they sung together, that it feels like she expected this, Poe and his warm and lively teasing, and she just shakes her head fondly.

He pouts as he stops playing momentarily, the crowd laughing once more.

It’s an absolute delight when they do sing, their voices melding together warm and full over the upbeat notes of the song. It’s a short, bawdy tune, perfect for the evening performance at the pub, and the crowd is just rowdy enough that it feeds into the energetic atmosphere and she feels like she can do this forever.

Even when the song ends and the music morphs into something a little slower, a little more romantic, she feels absolutely alive, her blood thrumming through her veins in time with the music. She meets Poe’s eyes near the end of it, and the same feeling seems to be written on his face, too, and everything in this moment is just sheer perfection.

She closes her eyes as she and Poe croon out the last note, only opening them to face the audience when the sound fades away. The crowd bursts out once more in applause and she smiles bashfully, suddenly feeling shy even though she just sang on stage in front of the large crowd, and moves over to Poe, who’s smiling at her like she hung the moon and all the stars in the sky.

Doesn’t he know that it’s him who gave her the world?

She smiles and squeezes Poe’s hand before moving towards the side of the stage, waving at the crowd as they cheer and beg for just one more song. She’s headed down the stairs when something catches her eye —

Or rather someone does. She’s standing near the doorway in the back, a small woman with familiar flowing scarves and a long, colorful skirt, her eyes framed by large glasses.

Rey stops, startled as the force of the memory hits her, looks away for the briefest of moments to descend the steps, only to look back up, a small smile already appearing on her face as she means to walk over and say hello, but . . .

The woman is gone.

Rey glances around quickly, but she doesn’t see the fortune teller. But she’s quickly distracted as her friends beckon her over, chattering excitedly about her performance, Rose pulling her in for a quick hug around the neck.

She rejoins them to watch Poe as he finishes up his set, an occasional cajoling yell joining the cheers and applause, begging for Rey to join Poe once more on stage. Finn and Rose both lean in to shake her shoulders enthusiastically to accompany the crowd’s cheers, and she flushes with warmth, absolutely delighted, even as she waves the comment away jovially.

When Poe finishes up, the first thing he does after setting his guitar down is to jog down the stairs to sweep her up in his arms and spin her around, pressing a kiss into her hair when he sets her down. After, they once more greet the crowds of people that come up to compliment them and to talk with Poe, and to alternately tease him about keeping Rey away from the Renaissance Faire’s patrons before then. She listens, amused, and shrugs, and with more ease and certainty than she could have ever imagined coming from herself in this situation, she promises to return.

It’s her and Poe at the Renaissance Faire with the music that brought them together. At this point, singing here with Poe feels a little like coming home.

Poe walks to the stage to grab his guitar, and Rey steps toward Rose, leaning into her as she weaves her arm through the crook of her friend’s elbow, lost in thought and memories.

Rose’s voice breaks through the haze of her recollection. “Oh hey, isn’t that the fortune teller from last year?”

Rey glances up, a swirl of color once more catching her eye. The woman smiles, both kind and amused, but there’s something else there, too.

Rey’s seen that look before. Rey had seen it just moments before the petite lady had uttered words that first broke her heart, that she had waited for nothing, but then soothed the pain with what she had always longed to hear, that confirmed to her that she had her family next to her, those sweet, amazing friends of hers, and what’s more, that the love and belonging she sought was waiting for her just ahead.

Rey doesn’t believe in fortune tellers or psychics, doesn’t believe that fate is written in the stars. But the accuracy of what the fortune teller had told her practically knocks her sideways.

Luckily, she has her friends to lean on, and the love of her life to walk beside her, she thinks as Poe comes up and throws an arm around her and kisses her cheek while Finn takes Rose’s hand and Paige walks beside them.

As Rey continues to take in the woman across the pub from her, the woman just grins, her eyes still all-knowing, and winks, before sweeping out the door and out of sight once more.

A year ago Rey was still waiting, still searching, but now?

Now she’s found everything she needs.

And it feels absolutely lovely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost at the end folks, all we have left is the epilogue! For all those reading and commenting through it all, thank you so much, it really is very much appreciated! <3


	13. Epilogue

_A year later . . ._

She’s not grumpy. She really isn’t. It’s just that her mood is quickly growing more and more sour. From the moment she opened her eyes that morning, everything seemed to be going wrong.

Okay, so maybe she is a little grumpy.

First, she woke alone in bed, the sheets next to her retaining just the barest hint of warmth. She opened her eyes, blinking against the weak sunlight streaming in from her window and looked around.

There was no sign of Poe or Beebee in the bedroom. Even the days Poe got up before her to take Beebee on an early morning walk, the excitable corgi usually would return to the foot of the bed afterwards for a few more snoozes.

She caught the barest hint of steam and the scent of the shampoo Poe favored, and strained her ears as she eased her legs out of bed. She thought she heard him in the kitchen and trundled sleepily out of the bedroom, only to find him standing before the stove scrambling eggs and making toast.

She blearily stumbled over and pressed her nose into his neck, feeling his damp curls tickle her skin as she wrapped her arms around his bare torso. “What’s got you up so early?”

If she hadn’t still been so sleepy, she would have recognized those puffy beige linen pants, just one of the many layers he wears for his troubadour costume. But instead, she just smothered her yawn against his shoulder. He was the one to blame for keeping her up late the night before after all.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, tilting his head just enough to press a quick kiss to her hair. “I know I wasn’t supposed to work the Faire this weekend, but the other guy called and asked me to cover for him.”

She made a noise of protest, her lips still pressed to his skin, and felt the responding rumble of laughter underneath her hands. He always was a bit ticklish. Still, “There was no way he could have worked it?”

They had planned this weekend out months ago. The year prior Poe had worked every weekend, but this year he would take a weekend off and have a guy come in to cover it so the group could go to the Renaissance Faire together – even Paige had come into town to go with them.

She sighed. She had been really excited to finally experience the Faire with him and all of her friends together for once.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. It was a family emergency, sounded important.”

She was disappointed, but accepted it nonetheless. She couldn’t be angry at this other person for something like that, and Poe was a good guy – just one of the many reasons she loved him. She couldn’t be mad at him for stepping in to help out.

He switched off the stove and moved the pan off the heat before turning in her arms, an arm wrapping around her waist to keep her close even as his other hand came up to cradle her cheek. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” he said. He pressed his lips gently to hers, and her disappointment melted away at his kiss.

But that was only the first thing that had happened that morning.

Finn, Rose, and Paige showed up at the house less than an hour after Poe had already left to work the Faire. Rey and Poe had moved into their new home less than a month ago, both eager to find a larger space that they could share after living at Poe’s place for the last year.

They had fallen in love with the house the moment they saw it, and so had Beebee, with the abundance of squirrels that came through the backyard. He didn’t chase them or make any attempt to catch them though. Instead, he seemed fascinated by them, equally content to just watch them as he was with rolling over on his back and trying to make friends with them.

But while she and Poe hadn’t finished unpacking yet — much less have any sort of housewarming party — Finn and Rose had already been over. They knew how to maneuver around the still unpacked boxes and out of place furniture. Besides, they were her family, and they knew to go ahead and make themselves at home. So, she left them behind to head to the bedroom to change into her costume while they were sorting out who got the bathroom first to change into their own outfits. She had been planning to wear the chemise and the teal blue overdress combination with its golden corset laces that she had worn last year. She had even taken it out and tried it on last month before the move to make sure it still fit.

She was sure that she had placed it in the wardrobe box that now sits in the corner of her and Poe’s bedroom. She hadn’t needed to open it before then. She knew the outfit was in there.

At least, she thought it had been. It wasn’t in the closet either.

With a frustrated yell, she heads to the living room where Rose and Paige sit, their costumes resting by them as they wait for Finn to change.

Rose looks up in concern as Rey comes stomping in. “What is it?”

“I can’t find it.”

Finn, who had just stepped out of the bathroom and overheard the two women talking, had asked, “Your costume?”

“Yes,” she says, running her hands through her hair. “I thought it was in the wardrobe box, but it’s not there. And it’s not hanging up in the closet either. I don’t know where it could be.”

“We’ll help you look for it,” Rose says, gesturing between herself and Finn, “while Paige changes into her costume.”

Finn reaches out to squeeze her shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’ll work out.”

Together they start looking through several of the boxes sitting in the living room, glancing in to find them filled with everything from books to kitchenware to winter clothes and towels.

But no Renaissance Faire costume.

Rey’s about to start panicking, unsure where the costume could be, _They couldn’t have left any of their belongings behind, could they?_ , when she hears the sound of the bathroom door opening and footsteps coming into the living room.

“Any luck?” Paige asks.

“No.” Rey expels a huff of air and turns around.

Paige isn’t in costume either.

“Me either,” Paige says, a rueful expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Rose asks.

“I should’ve tried it on earlier. I know better, but . . .” Paige shrugs. “It’s a little too tight around the waist now.”

Rey glances at Paige. She hadn’t noticed any difference in Paige. She seemed as slender as ever.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Rose claps her hands together, gleefully. “I have an idea!”

Five minutes later, Rey steps out of her bedroom as Rose steps out of the bathroom, both of them now wearing costumes.

“Just like old times,” Rose says, running her hand along the long sleeve of Rey’s dress.

Once again, Rey was wearing Paige’s dress. Like before, the dress fit Rey like a glove, the forest green material and gold trim bringing back memories of the Faire two years ago when she had accompanied Rose and Finn, and where she had met Poe for the first time.

They walk into the living room, and Paige exclaims, “You two look wonderful! Honestly Rey, it’s probably for the best that you’re wearing that instead of me.”

Although Rey’s grateful that Paige is letting her borrow the dress again, she can’t help but ask “But what about you?” Rey knows how much the Tico sisters love the Faire. She doesn’t want Paige to feel left out now that Rey has a costume to wear but she doesn’t.

“I think I’ll just rent one of the costumes from the shop up front,” she says, a sly grin suddenly appearing on her face. “Who knows, I could get one of those wench costumes, maybe rock one of those really wicked corsets.”

Rose gives Paige a high-five, while Finn just laughs at their antics and says, “Looks like everything has worked out for the best, huh?”

She’s not really sure why Rose glares at him. At least he remembered his costume this year.

They’re just about ready to go, Beebee finally pulling himself away from the abundance of pets he had been receiving from the small group gathered at the house to lay down by a window with ample sunshine and a view of the backyard. A few moments later, Rey’s locked up the house and they pile into the car.

It’s a fairly quick drive to the festival grounds, and despite the fact it’s still relatively early in the morning, everyone seems upbeat. Rey hums along to the music playing on the radio while Finn and Rose sing along in the front of the car. She sees Finn reach over to Rose, gather one of her hands up in his to hold for the ride. Rey feels so incredibly fond of her friends, so happy at their happiness. She looks over, sees that Paige has noticed the movement too, and they share a smile.

Not for the first time, she thinks of how lucky she is to have found this family after being alone for so long.

The only downside to the moment is that Poe couldn’t be there.

She reminds herself that she’ll him again soon enough, and in that moment, her mood finally perks up for the first time that morning.

The moment Finn parks, she’s eager to get inside — not just to see Poe, though that is her main desire—but to also get her hands on some of her favorite festival food.

They walk into the Faire together, and while Paige enters the little costume rental shop, she stays outside with Finn and Rose. They’re just aimlessly chatting while waiting for Paige when she hears it.

She can just barely make out the strumming of a guitar and a man’s voice singing. She can’t quite pinpoint an exact location, the music floating along the air, but it doesn’t seem like it’s too far away. From the other noises she can make out, the yelling of food orders and the clanging of a bell, she’d guess the music was coming from somewhere near the food area.

She pauses and listens for a moment, straining to hear over the noise of the festival. Something prickles at her brain, a thought that it doesn’t quite sound like Poe. She shrugs it off, figuring the sound is just distorted from this far off.

Anyway, she’s quickly distracted when Finn pulls out the schedule of events and suggests they start planning the day.

She glances towards the costume shop. “Shouldn’t we wait for Paige?”

Rose is quick to reply. “Let’s look over it now. We can finalize it with her after.”

They huddle together and scan the sheet of paper. There’s the jousting, which is an absolute must, and the fights among the armored knights. She and Finn like to go to those, often wondering out loud how they could join the groups and battle each other with the fantastic swords, much to Rose’s chagrin.

The falconry demonstrations were always fun, not to mention the demos from the artisans. There were comedy shows and musical groups, and so many other entertainers that Rey’s head was positively spinning.

She gasps. There’s a magic show in a few minutes, and if it’s the same one she remembers from last year, she needs to see it again.

She’s just about to suggest they head over there first when Paige walks out, a positively giddy smile on her face as she twirls, showing off the outfit, with its full skirts and stunning corset top.

Rose practically screeches and runs to Paige, grabbing her hands to spin around with her.

Rey and Finn giggle watching them, and once they’ve calmed down enough, Rey suggests that they walk over to the magic show. It’s starting in a few minutes, and she’s eager to see it.

Considering the way her day seems to be going, she shouldn’t have been surprised to hear Paige’s cell phone ring.

Paige answers, and after a few short words, her face falls. She covers the mouthpiece and whispers “Work. Should only be a couple minutes,” before returning to her call and walking a few feet away until she’s standing in a quieter spot beneath a nearby tree.

The call lingers on . . . and on and on and on.

Rey glances at her phone, sees the minutes tick by. The show has already started, and Rose doesn’t seem eager to leave her sister behind, which seems a bit strange considering that Paige could meet them there, but Rey doesn’t question it. She knows Paige and Rose are extremely close, and Rose doesn’t have as much opportunity to spend time with her now that Paige is on the road so much.

She bites her lip, thinking. There’s a second show later in the afternoon, but it conflicts with the armored knight fights. She’ll need to study the schedule a bit more.

Finn drops a kiss onto Rose’s hair and gives Rey a sympathetic look. “Why don’t I get us some food?”

Rey gives him a grateful smile, knows that Finn’s trying to soothe some of her bad mood away.

“Pastries?” She asks, with a sheepish grin. “And maybe some coffee, too?”

Rose chimes in with her own order. “Coffee for me, too, babe.”

“One normal coffee and one cup of cream and sugar with a drop of coffee coming right up,” he says with a wink towards Rey, teasing her for her penchant for extra sweet coffee. She sticks her tongue out at him. “And plenty of pastries,” he continues. “I’ll be back in a few. Why don’t you wait for me by the shops?”

As Finn walks away, Rose waves at her sister and points to the shops which sit only a few feet away. After a nod from Paige, the two women walk towards the vendor stalls.

Rose leads them to a display of necklaces. Rey has never worn a lot of jewelry herself, but she appreciates beauty wherever she finds it, and it’s always fun to admire the pieces with Rose.

An assortment of candles sit next to the jewelry, and she and Rose pick them up one after another to smell. She’s holding one out to Rose when Finn returns.

“Oh! Perfect timing,” she says, reaching out to the tray holding their coffee.

Finn moves the tray just out of reach.

There is something in that movement, something so familiar, that she doesn’t even need to hear him say, “Just wait a moment,” before a cascade of memories hits her like an avalanche. Two years ago, she was at the Faire with Rose and Finn, wearing Paige’s dress. Two years ago, in an attempt to apologize for forgetting his own costume, Finn had left Rose and Rey to grab them coffee and pastries, only to return with a troubadour with the loveliest voice playing the sweetest song she’d ever heard.

The memory of the fortune teller telling her in this exact spot that the love and belonging she sought was just ahead was so strong, she half expected to see the petite lady standing next to her now, repeating those same powerful words as before.

Instead, she turns around, knowing exactly what she’ll see.

Once more time stops as she sees everything she has ever wanted standing in front of her in the form of the troubadour turned love of her life.

She sees him smile, so warm and gentle, that she can’t help but respond in kind. Everything seems sweeter in that moment, from the soft breeze that brushes along her skin to the earthy scent of the landscape around them to the sight of Poe’s warm brown eyes as they gaze back at her as he begins to strum at his guitar.

The tune is familiar, brings that moment two years ago right back to her and once more she’s getting lost in the words and the sound of his voice.

Then suddenly that beautiful smile of his turns into something a bit more teasing and the familiar sounds of _Sweet Caroline_ fill the air.

A few people in the crowd around them turn and look, taking a moment to giggle at the absurd song choice of the troubadour as he slips from one modern song into another, before they return to their own day at the Faire.

But the songs aren’t absurd to Rey at all. She knows them well. They’re all songs they’ve sung together.

By the time he starts singing _Dream a Little Dream of Me_ she knows what’s happening. Her suspicions have only turned into something certain, and now she’s grinning like a fool.

She’s surrounded by her family, the ones she found and who never left. Her lovely troubadour is singing her a song and within the words lies the promise of forever. A forever that includes everything she could have hoped for, everything she longed for, but never imagined would actually happen for her.

She remembers her dreams — their dreams — for the future, of lazy weekend mornings curled up on the couch together, late nights drinking wine on the porch talking about anything and everything, building a home and a family and a life _together_ . . .

There’s a ring hanging around his neck right now, but soon enough it’ll be around her finger.

She smiles.

She’s ready for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After ending the last chapter on a fluffy note, I thought to myself, you know what this story needs? More fluff. I couldn't resist.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked the extra sweet note this story ended on. And to everyone who stuck with me through what was originally supposed to have been a two-chapter fic to what became a multiple chapter story because I wanted Poe and Rey to sing a duet together, thank you so much!


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